All in the Mind
by CD57
Summary: NID is trying to take over the SGC… the plot is thickening. Story complete
1. Something is wrong

**ALL IN THE MIND**

* * *

_**CATEGORY**: Action/Adventure._

_**SPOILERS:** minor ones. Don't remember exactly. Not that important._

_**SEASON / SEQUEL:** This story takes place **AFTER Shades of Grey and BEFORE Chain Reaction!!!**_

_**RATING:** PG - T  
_

_**CONTENT WARNINGS:** None really important. Maybe some swearing, but with Jack's mouth, what's new?_

_**SUMMARY**: NID is thickening the plot to take over the SGC…_

_**DISCLAIMER**: This story is written entirely for entertainment and is not intended as an infringement against the copy written material that belongs solely to Showtime, MGM/UA, Gekko Films, et al. I'm only playing with their characters and will return them as soon as the story is finished. The following story is the property of the authors and is not to be copied, or published without the express, written consent of the authors._

_**AUTHORS' NOTES:** This story is written by CD57 (aka Corine) and Margo. It started out based on an idea Margo had, but then we got stuck. Half a year later we changed perspectives and came up with a whole other ending. Hope you like it... Let us know…._

* * *

The Stargate disengaged as SG-1 walked down the ramp passing their weapons and gear to the armory personnel.

Colonel Jack O'Neill as usual was the last to exit the wormhole and was bringing up the rear behind Teal'c, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Major Samantha Carter. General George Hammond stood in the Control Room listening to the friendly bantering going on between the team. As usual, Colonel O'Neill was baiting Dr. Jackson.

"Daniel, it was a roooooock!" the Colonel announced with a wide smile and a slap on Daniel's shoulder, exaggerating the word for the archaeologist's benefit.

"You know sometimes, Jack you can be a real ass! That artifact has writing on it at least a thousand years old. And you were throwing it around!"

"SG-1, welcome home! Report to the infirmary. Debriefing is in one hour," General Hammond interrupted the discussion.

"Yes, Sir," Colonel O'Neill threw a salute towards the observation window and led his team through the blast doors.

"Okay people, if there is nothing else to report, you are on stand-down for five days." General Hammond was once again amazed how much valuable information SG-1 had brought back. This group of individuals with their distinct differences had melded together to form a perfect team. Colonel O'Neill had the ability to access their individual strengths and build on them. Yeah, all the SG Teams were superior, but this particular one was special and unique. Uniquely formed by the ex-Special Forces, career military man Colonel Jack O'Neill, the whiz-kid Dr. Daniel Jackson being both the linguist and the archaeologist of the team, Dr. Samantha Carter as the astrophysicist, also a Major in the Air Force and the Jaffa Teal'c, an alien who has proven to be invaluable to the program.

"Yes, Sir. Okay, kids. You heard the General. I want you to leave the base and have some fun. Carter, this means no hiding out in your lab. The same goes for you, Daniel. Teal'c, I know you'll have fun." Jack had to smile at the expression on Teal'c's face. "I'll see you guys on Monday." With a wave of his hand, the Colonel headed for the door.

General Hammond walked towards his office overhearing the conversation. He suppressed a smile as he stepped inside his office, closing the door behind him. Who would have thought four years ago that Colonel Jack O'Neill would find a family and a home here at Stargate Command? It was hard to believe that SG-1's leader was the same man as the hard-nosed, detached person he had met so long ago.

Daniel exchanged a look with Sam, and then stepped outside the briefing room, scanning the corridors of the SGC. Jack was already halfway towards the elevators. "Jack, do you want to get together for pizza and beer this weekend?" Daniel yelled after him.

O'Neill didn't slow down and looked briefly over his shoulder. "Yeah, that would be great. Call me and let me know when." With that short comment, he disappeared around the corner.

* * *

It was Saturday night. Daniel and Sam had decided to get together in the afternoon to discuss the latest artifact they had brought back. They had invited Teal'c and ordered pizza but hadn't been able to find the Colonel.

"I don't know, Sam. I haven't talked to him all week. Maybe he decided to go camping or fishing?" Daniel wondered out loud.

"Perhaps we should go to his house. O'Neill seems to spend a lot of time on the roof with his telescope..." Teal'c suggested.

Sam thought it over for a brief second. "Okay, guys. Grab the pizza and drinks. Daniel, you think the Colonel will be okay with us showing up and crashing his stargazing party?"

After Daniel's shrug they wrapped up the pizza, stuffed some beer in a cooler and left.

They pulled into O'Neill's drive. The Colonel's truck was parked beside the house but the place seemed deserted. The friends left the car and made their way around to the ladder at the back of the house. Teal'c climbed up to the homemade observatory.

"O'Neill is not here."

"Okay, let's try the door, maybe he's asleep." Sam felt a bit uncomfortable with showing up unannounced.

The team knocked on the door and rang the doorbell several times but received no answer. They turned and walked back towards their car.

"Well, I guess Jack left with someone else." Disappointment was clearly evident in Daniel's voice. The team enjoyed getting together during their downtime and he had been looking forward to it once again.

"Let's go back to my apartment. I'll warm the pizza up again. I'm sure it's cold by now." Carter was trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Perhaps O'Neill has forgotten about us getting together." Teal'c knew his friends were a little upset that their CO was not home.

"Yeah, Teal'c. You're right," Daniel said and Sam nodded her head, starting the car to leave.

* * *

It was Monday morning. Daniel and Sam arrived at the SGC, meeting at the parking lot. Walking towards the entrance of the Mountain, they exchanged thoughts.

"Daniel, did you talk to the Colonel yesterday?" Carter asked.

"No. I tried all day, but couldn't reach him. I'm sure he'll show up with some big fish-story to tell."

"Yeah, we'll have to hear how he caught a 29lb. bass. You know he's worse than a kid sometimes." Sam and Daniel both laughed, remembering their friend could be so juvenile at times.

By mid-morning Jackson realized he still hadn't seen his friend. Normally, Jack always showed up in his office before lunch. O'Neill was usually bored with the paperwork by this time and they would go for coffee or Jack would just come down to harass him. Daniel picked up the phone and dialed O'Neill's office.

"Yeah?"

"Jack, is that you?" the archaeologist asked, not immediately recognizing the hoarse voice.

"Now, who else would it be, Daniel?"

"I haven't seen you all day, are you okay?" Jackson started to get worried; Jack didn't sound like himself.

"I'm fine," O'Neill answered briefly.

"Jack, I'm coming down…" Daniel announced, hung up the phone and headed for O'Neill's office. He really needed to see his friend and check on him. He knocked softly on the door and stepped inside.

"Hi, Jack. Did you have a good vacation?" Daniel examined his friend thoroughly, noticing Jack looked rather tired. An unnerving feeling made him shiver. There was something; something just didn't seem right with the man in front of him, but he couldn't describe the feeling.

"Yeah, Daniel… it was good." O'Neill was very distant and short in his answer and hardly looked up from the papers in front of him on the desk.

"Sam, Teal'c and I got together for pizza on Saturday. We were hoping you could join us."

"Oh, well… I… got busy doing other stuff..." The Colonel seemed to stammer with his comment. He stared at the paperwork on his desk.

"Jack, you look tired. Are you sure you're all right?" The archaeologist neither liked the sight of his friend, nor the way he was acting.

This time, O'Neill looked up at the linguist. His face was pale, his eyes sunken and he briefly waved at the stuff on his desk, trying to sound reassuring. "Yes, Daniel. I'm fine… I'm just busy with all this paperwork. All this end of the month stuff... you know this drives me crazy! So if you don't mind, I really need to get back to work."

"Oh, okay. Call me later. Maybe we can get together for coffee..." Reluctantly, SG-1's only civilian walked out and closed the door behind him. Lost in his thoughts, he walked through the corridors. Startled by a voice calling his name, he looked up to see Sam and Teal'c staring at him. "Oh! Hi guys, I didn't see you."

"Daniel Jackson, are you all right?" the big Jaffa asked, raising his brows.

"What, no, no… I was just thinking," the linguist stammered and quickly tried to put a smile on his face. He wasn't sure he needed to tell them he was worried about Jack. After all, it was only a feeling he couldn't explain. Plus, Jack would only get crankier with three people fussing all over him.

"Daniel, have you seen the Colonel? We want to go for lunch," Sam asked. Normally, the team would get together for breakfast or lunch if they were on base. This morning, she'd been busy in the lab. When Teal'c had shown up, they had decided to have a late lunch.

"Yeah, I just talked to him. He's doing paperwork, so he's not in a very good mood. We should probably leave him alone for awhile…"

"Is he all right? I'm still wondering where he was during our downtime, although he's a big boy and I guess he can take care of himself…" She was still very curious as to where her CO and friend had been the last five days.

"A big-boy, Major Carter? Is O'Neill not considered a man in this world?" A puzzled looked appeared on Teal'c's face.

"Yes, Teal'c. It's just an expression... It means he can take care of himself." Carter was grinning, trying hard to keep from laughing. Sometimes the Colonel did act like a very mischievous and energetic boy, but she would never tell him that.

Daniel was also having a hard time holding in the laughter. "Oh, I don't know Sam… a boy pretty much describes Jack sometimes. Or maybe a juvenile delinquent boy!" He was thinking of the practical jokes their friend had inflicted on them.

Jackson reconsidered his decision about his friend. Maybe Jack could use some company. Plus, the man couldn't throw them out if all three of them showed up in his office, could he? "Well. He's got to eat sometime. Let's go rescue him from all that boring paperwork to go for lunch."

* * *

"Sir, you look tired… Did the fish keep you up all night?" Sam was trying hard to bait her CO. The Colonel had barely spoken three words since they had convinced him to join them for lunch. He looked exhausted and every now and then he absently rubbed his chest. Daniel had tried to question him about that but he had cautiously changed the subject. He was playing with his food without really eating.

"What? I'm sorry, Carter. I wasn't listening." O'Neill looked up to see three concerned faces staring at him. He really had to get his act together or they would be fussing over him all day. "I was thinking about all that damn paperwork waiting for me. You know how much I hate that crap!" Hopefully, he sounded convincing.

Daniel shrugged, noticing they weren't getting anywhere and tried to change the subject. "So, Jack. What did you do all week?"

"Oh, uh, well, I watched some hockey …fishing, went fishing, yeah. I had a great time." O'Neill had a hard time remembering what he had done. He vaguely recalled going fishing with a buddy, but who was it? Where did they go? Some images about a fight crossed his mind. Had he been in a fight? That would explain why he was so sore and how he got those damn bruises on his chest. He needed to convince his team everything was all right, or they would force him into going to the infirmary. Now, that he could remember, that he didn't want to go there.

"O'Neill, did you catch any fish?" Teal'c did not understand how catching a fish could be considered fun. Catching a fish meant nothing more to him than having a meal when he would get hungry on some faraway planet. But it was not fun.

The Colonel thought about it, but he couldn't remember. Everything was jumbled together. There were some memories but they all seemed wrong. He really must have had a lot of beer on this fishing trip.

Noticing the dazed look on their CO's face, Carter asked, "Sir? Come on; don't tell us you didn't catch anything!" She frowned, thinking he was really acting strange. Something was definitely not right. Usually, the Colonel would share big fish tales with them. Today, he seemed to be at a loss for words, and that was not like him at all.

"You know, I'm really tired. I'm going to finish my work and then try and get some rest." Jack was already on his feet heading for the door, barely missing an airman who promptly saluted, but the Colonel failed to reciprocate.

"Well, that was really weird. Does anybody else think something is going on here?" Daniel's voice cut through the stunned silence following the Colonel's sudden disappearance. This lunch was supposed to alleviate his fears and concerns for his friend. Instead, Daniel was convinced now that Jack was in trouble. He just didn't know if he was sick or if something else was going on.

"Yes, indeed, O'Neill does seem to be troubled," Teal'c as usual stated the obvious fact.

"Okay, so what do we do? He obviously doesn't want to talk about it." Sam kept her voice low since there were too many people around and she didn't want to draw any attention to them.

"Perhaps O'Neill just needs some sleep. He does seem to be tired." The stoic Jaffa was trying to ease his friends' concerns, but he was determined to keep a close eye on their CO.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Teal'c." Daniel knew that Jack was a private man who needed plenty of space. "Maybe he is having nightmares again. They can really keep him awake for some time and he hates to talk about that," he thought out loud.

"Daniel, let's just keep an eye on him. I'm sure he's okay. Look guys, I've got a lot of work to do before the briefing this afternoon." Carter stood, ending the conversation, but not completely relieved.

The linguist wanted to finish a report before the briefing and Teal'c was working with one of the technicians concerning weapons. They all left the commissary, each going separate ways.

* * *

**_You already sense some trouble? What is going on? More tomorrow... I promise ;-)_**

* * *


	2. Confusing orders

_**All right, let's see what trouble Jack has gotten himself into this time, shall we? Enjoy...**_

* * *

O'Neill couldn't concentrate on the dreaded paperwork. The walls were closing in on him, so he decided to go topside to get some fresh air. He reached his favorite spot and stared at the mountains, inhaling the cool air deeply into his lungs. It was a beautiful clear, cool day and he settled down trying to think. Was he okay? He knew he had numerous bruises across his chest and stomach. His ribs were definitely bruised, although not fractured. At least he hoped not. Why couldn't he remember what had happened? Everything seemed so jumbled and there were giant lapses. He knew he'd gone fishing but where and who with?

It felt like he had been drunk ---like a hangover, but it had been years since he'd been drunk like that. What the hell had he gotten into? Why would he have been in a fight? He knew he could have a bad temper, especially when he had been drinking, but he normally wouldn't get involved in a fistfight, would he? Jack rubbed his temples. God, all this thinking was giving him a headache. Maybe he should let Doc take a look at him. Well, he had a pre-mission check up tomorrow morning, so if he wasn't feeling better by then, he would have to tell her. Checking his watch, Jack realized he had a briefing to attend. He got up and headed back towards the elevators.

* * *

"Dr. Jackson, what information can you give us concerning these markings on the stairs leading to the Stargate?" The MALP had detected some very unusual writings on P4X217 and General Hammond knew the archaeologist had probably figured it out by now.

"Sir, they are…" Daniel started, but was interrupted by the klaxons, heralding the arrival of a team. The General rose to his feet and left the briefing room, the members of SG-1 following him closely.

They entered the Control Room where General Hammond gave his orders to the airman on duty. Apparently SG-5 was coming home, so the iris opened up and they all stood in front of the observation window to watch the team return. After the familiar welcome, the General decided it was time to continue the briefing.

Suddenly, Jack abruptly turned and walked towards the security guards stationed by the stairs. He appeared to be leaving. The remaining group turned and stared at him, unsure of the situation.

"Colonel O'Neill, we are not finished with the briefing," General Hammond called, as confused as the others.

O'Neill never looked back. He grabbed one of the guards by the arm and knocked the other down the stairs. Before anyone had a chance to react he had a gun in his hand. He tossed the remaining guard aside. Then, he held the weapon at arm's length, ready to fire. At the end of the line of fire stood a stunned General Hammond.

"Jack! God, what are you doing?" Daniel was frantic, thinking about approaching his friend to stop him, but afraid to do so.

"Sir," Sam tried to step closer to him. She took in the confused expression on her CO's face, the distant gaze in his eyes and the slight trembling of his hand. Something was wrong, very, very wrong. The blonde Major realized how dangerous this situation was.

"Fight it, Sir. You can do it," she urged, keeping her voice steady and firm. She needed to distract him long enough for Teal'c to make his way around the Colonel, so he could approach him from behind. From the corner of her eye she spotted several guards having positioned themselves on the stairs; weapons drawn ready to fire.

O'Neill appeared to be struggling, his eyes glancing from one side to the other, but locking back on his target once more.

"Hold your fire!" Hammond told the guards, determined to defuse this situation before his 2IC got injured or killed.

He hooked his eyes on the Colonel, who hadn't spoken a word since this had started. "Colonel, put that gun down. That's an order," Hammond said out loud.

The guards didn't move, keeping their weapons aimed, ready to respond to anything. The Colonel didn't as much as blink an eye. He gave no response.

"Put it down, Jack. You are trained to beat this," the General urged. "Put. It. Down."

Teal'c made slow progress in his attempt to move around O'Neill, planning to jump on him and secure him on the floor as soon as he reached a proper position.

Jack was fighting a battle inside his head. He detected people trying to move closer to him. He somehow knew them; he also knew that voice and wanted to obey the order. On the other hand something was telling him he needed to kill this man, another order he wanted to obey.

"Fight it, Sir," he heard a woman's voice. He knew that voice. It was a familiar voice.

_He had to fight it._

_He could do that. He was trained to do that. _

_Fight what? _

_He had his orders. _

_Kill this man… _

_Put the gun down. _

He tried to shake the unnerving feeling, to get rid of the fog that seemed to have settled in his brain. He glanced at the big Jaffa who was slowly moving around him. He knew that man. He was a friend, right?

_Why was he moving around him then?_

He stretched his arm a little further, threatening, and felt the guards on the stairs react similarly. The man who was supposed to be his friend had stopped.

He glared at the man at gunpoint. The man who'd told him to put the gun down.

_Kill this man._

_No! Obey his orders. He was his Commanding Officer and his friend._

_God. What a mess._

"Sir." Was that his own voice? He didn't even recognize it. The voice was so low, lacking every emotion. He forced himself to end this situation. He pivoted, aiming his weapon at the guards on the stairs.

Somebody hollered, "Don't shoot!" One guard couldn't control his nerves and pulled the trigger. Sam dragged the General to one side, out of the line of fire.

Teal'c dove forward as the shot rang out.

He was too late.

* * *

**_Oh-uh. That didn't look good, did it? And it was short, I know, but it was a good place to stop.  
_**

**_Want to know what happened? Stay tuned for the next chapter!_**


	3. What Janet found

_Teal'c dove forward as the shot rang out. He was too late._

The Colonel collapsed in a heap, rolling around on the floor. Teal'c fell next to him, not able to stop his dive and crawled closer. Sam called for a medical team. Daniel just stood there, apparently in shock. Hammond picked up the gun O'Neill had dropped from his limp arm, staring at it in surprise. The guards gathered around the scene, still ready to respond to anything.

Hammond stared at his fallen Second, sorrow in his eyes as his fingers fidgeted with the gun in his hand. "Stand down," he ordered softly and the guards stepped backwards.

Teal'c had gently turned his CO around, leaning him comfortably against his chest.

Daniel knelt next to them, locking his eyes on Jack's. "Jack, what happened?"

O'Neill bit back a groan, feeling the blood running down his side and arm. The fog was still present in his head, although he did recognize Daniel. He tried desperately to stay alert, to fight off the blackness that was surrounding him at alarming rate. He tried to say something, but the words didn't come out.

Sam dropped on her knees to take his pulse. She took in the blood that was soaking the Colonel's shirt and gasped. She was about to yell for the medics to hurry as when she heard Doctor Janet Fraiser rushing upstairs to reach them.

The diminutive doctor immediately took control, barking out her orders. She'd only needed one look around the room to notice the shocked and confused faces surrounding the Colonel. Knowing a stretcher was on the way, she took O'Neill's pulse and blood pressure, and then examined the bullet wound while listening to Carter's quick update on what had happened. As far as she could see the bullet had grazed the Colonel's chest, leaving a deep groove. The bullet had also grazed the inside of the O'Neill's arm, but she was convinced the bullet had left his body. All the blood soaking the man's shirt and dripping on the carpet made it look worse than it really was. If the shooter had aimed one inch more to the right, it would have been another story, she thought. One member of her staff handed her some bandages and she expertly covered both bleeding cuts.

"Colonel O'Neill, you're going to be fine. Sir, can you hear me?" Janet didn't like the blank expression, the lack of emotion and that he wasn't responding to her at all. "Colonel, I need you to stay awake for me. Come on, Sir! Look at me," she urged, waving one finger in front of his eyes to catch his attention. When she took in his staring eyes, not responding to the movement of her finger, Janet waved at the approaching medics with the stretcher and ordered them to lift the injured man onto it to take him to the infirmary.

Hammond grabbed her arm before she could follow them. "Doctor. I want you to figure out what is wrong with him and I want it fast."

Fraiser looked up at him, taking in his pleading eyes. She nodded slowly. "Yes, Sir. Now, if you'll excuse me…" As soon as he let go of her arm, she rushed to her infirmary. She had a patient to tend to.

* * *

The remaining members of SG-1 gathered in the infirmary, waiting for Janet to come out with news about their friend. The team was still shocked by what had happened and were trying to figure out what might have caused the behavior of Colonel O'Neill.

"Oh, Lord!" Daniel paced up and down the room, arms wrapped around his body, his head bent down. "I should have known, I should have known!!! When I visited him in his office, I sensed something was wrong… I should have told you, maybe we could have prevented this…"

"Daniel Jackson, you are not to blame," Teal'c attempted to reassure the linguist of the team, knowing how hard the man could be on himself.

Sam bit on her lip. "If you're to blame then we all are, Daniel. I mean, we saw how he behaved at lunch. Obviously, something was wrong and we let it go…" She also had a hard time forgiving herself. To be honest, she felt like an utter fool for having considered her lab work more important than the Colonel's well-being that afternoon at lunch.

"Major Carter, I do not think we could have prevented this. We need to concentrate on searching for the cause." Teal'c was practical as usual. He understood the guilt the others were feeling. He felt the same way about not having managed to push O'Neill out of the line of fire. Such regrets, however, were of no use.

"You're right, Teal'c," Sam said, trying to sound convinced. "We better start figuring out what happened when he was off duty. He was obviously under the influence of something, drugs or brainwashing, maybe? Something has happened to him and we have to know what."

Daniel stopped pacing, facing the others. "I think Jack also got in a fight or something. Did you see him rubbing his chest, wincing as he moved?" He slowly pushed his glasses back on his nose and ran one hand through his hair. He turned to Sam. "He can't be court-martialed for having pulled a stunt like that, can he?"

Carter frowned, thinking it over. The Colonel **_had _**threatened the General, **_had_** aimed a gun at the guards as well. "Maybe, Daniel, maybe. But I'm sure the General will find a way out."

"A way out of what?" asked the General in question, as he just entered the room to see if there was any news.

"Err, we were wondering if Jack would get court-martialed for this," Daniel hesitantly explained.

"Let's first wait what Doctor Fraiser comes up with, son," Hammond said. "There must be an explanation for the Colonel's behavior. Then we'll deal with the rest."

* * *

They all waited for another twenty minutes. Then, Janet entered with a chart in her hand, frowning deeply. She wasn't surprised to find the General with the rest of SG-1, knowing he needed to know the results of her examinations.

"Doctor? What have you got?" Hammond asked, too impatient to wait for her to start by herself.

"First, the bullet just grazed the Colonel's chest, Sir. It dug a groove in the skin on the right, then grazing the inside of his right arm. The injuries are not serious, although they looked rather messy. He has lost a lot of blood, but it's not life threatening." She looked up from her chart, taking in the relief that overwhelmed the team.

"What concerns me is his lack of response to any stimulation. He appears to be in some sort of trance, or shock. His blood pressure is on the low side, but that is to be expected after being shot. He is also running a slight fever and I have no idea what caused that, so I did another more detailed examination. I found bruises on his shoulders and chest. It looks to me like he took some blows a couple of days ago, but I can't be sure. His right arm has some fresh needle marks, also a couple of days old…"

She stopped briefly. Everybody was staring at her, stunned by her discoveries. "So I ran some tests. His blood is clean. Whatever he has injected ---or has been injected with, has vanished from his system. I can't detect what it was. I did some X-rays and an MRI scan… At least he hasn't broken his ribs this time. But I found this…"

Janet grabbed a photo of the Colonel's head. She pointed at a dark spot, located just behind his left ear. "Something has been implanted here. It's also causing the fever, Sir. The stitches are slightly inflamed. I hadn't spotted this earlier, because it is neatly hidden under his hair." She gave the General an apologetic look.

"Something implanted in his head?" the General said, his eyes widening in surprise. "Well? What is it? Did you attempt to remove it?"

"I don't know what it is, Sir. And yes, I did try to remove it, but I can't. It is in pretty deep, somehow there is a connection to his ear and, more importantly, to his brain. He seized heavily and went into cardiac arrest at my attempt to dig it out, Sir. We've got him back, but I don't want to repeat that procedure without more information."

The General's mouth fell wide open.

Carter inhaled sharply.

Daniel just sank down to the floor, with his back against the wall. He drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them.

"It is some sort of mind control thing, right?" Sam said. "It tries to control him. That's why he aimed at you, Sir."

Hammond looked at the Major. "Are you trying to tell me that somebody wants to kill me and is using one of my men to do the job?" His voice sounded harsh, the new information shocking him.

Carter nodded. "I think so, Sir. Why else would the Colonel point a gun at you? He _**did**_ try to fight it, Sir," she defended her CO, remembering how he'd hesitated, how he'd forced himself to turn and aim somewhere else.

The General sat down, leaning his head in his hands. "He did more than try, Major. The safety was still on his gun…"

"What?" Daniel looked up. "Jack would never forget something like that!"

"O'Neill must have done that on purpose. He was still in control." Teal'c nodded, understanding.

"Way to go, Jack!" Daniel couldn't help but feel proud of his friend.

"We don't know how forceful that device is, how it activates, what it's doing to him…" Janet summarized worriedly.

Hammond nodded. Taking control over the situation, he stood straight. "Doctor, I suggest you restrain the Colonel for his and our safety. Do whatever you can to treat him and keep me informed. Major, I need to know everything about that device and I need it pronto. Doctor Jackson, why don't you and Teal'c start by examining the Colonel's house? I need to know where he was during his time off, who he met and most importantly, what has happened to him. Whoever did this is _**not**_ through with me. I'm going to nail his ass on the highest glyph of the Stargate, is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir," four voices firmly responded.

* * *

**_Well. Something has happened to Jack and it is not good. Not good at all...... Are you worried? _**

* * *


	4. Is the Stargate the trigger?

_**Thanks for all your reviews! Especially the ones who reviewed without a login name, I cannot mail you back to thank you as I do with all the others....Glad you are enjoying this! Let's see what happens next now...**_

* * *

Daniel Jackson drove the car over to O'Neill's house. They had stopped by their friend to check on him before leaving, only to find him sleeping. The younger man had a hard time erasing that image from his mind: Jack, aiming the gun at General Hammond.

The linguist pulled into the driveway. "I can't believe this is happening," he said to Teal'c. "He tried so hard to fight this damn thing and they just shot him…" Although he hadn't pulled the trigger, Daniel felt incredibly guilty for not having been able to prevent this.

"O'Neill did what he had to do. So did we. We should be pleased he is not dead, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c tried to reason.

"Yeah, I know." Jackson sighed and stepped out of the car. "Come on, let's see what we can find out here." He searched his pockets and came up with the key to Jack's house.

"I suggest we take precautions, Daniel Jackson," the Jaffa warned, as Daniel wanted to unlock the door.

Daniel staggered back. "You're right. What do we do?"

Teal'c examined the door carefully, looking for signs of break-in. He also checked the windows, searched for footprints around the house and peered inside, trying to detect any possible danger. When he was satisfied, he nodded at Daniel Jackson. "I think it is safe to enter the house now."

Daniel unlocked the door, stepped back and kicked it wide open with one foot.

Nothing happened.

Teal'c stepped inside first, covering his companion with his huge body.

The house was empty. The living room was clear. There were no signs of anything in the kitchen. The bedroom however was a mess. The sheets were all messed up, laying half on the bed and half on the floor. One pillow and a small lamp, which belonged on the table next to the bed, lay on the carpet and a chair was upside down as well.

"Well," Daniel said, taking in the room, "I guess whoever got him surprised him in his sleep."

Teal'c agreed. "I think so, too. The question remains how have they gotten inside?"

Daniel checked the window. It was locked securely. "Do you think they could have had a duplicate key?" he wondered. Something else was bothering him. "How would they have surprised him in his sleep like that anyway? You know how alert he is…"

Teal'c entered the bathroom, searching the place without touching anything, while Daniel used his cell phone to call the General's office. He knew the General would arrange for some experts to search the place for evidence, fingerprints, whatever they could find.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c called out for him and he headed to the bathroom as well. There was a glass on the sink, with a bottle of aspirins lying half-open next to it.

Daniel stared at Teal'c, thinking out loud. "You mean somebody tampered with that? We'd better have Sam take a look at that, then…" Taking his handkerchief out of his pocket, he carefully picked the bottle up, without leaving any marks. He wrapped it in his kerchief and stashed it deep into his pocket. "Let's get back to the SGC. We're done here, I think."

* * *

Janet Fraiser was tired. She'd been working for a long time, before allowing herself a brief rest. She decided to take a seat next to the Colonel's bed, hoping he would wake up soon.

His condition was stable after his ordeal with the seizure. His arms and legs were cuffed to the bed, a mild sedative dripping through an IV-line into his veins. Janet had treated the inflamed incision with antibiotic ointment. The wounds where the bullet had grazed him were clean and she didn't expect any complications.

O'Neill hadn't moved an inch since his arrest. He was breathing in a slow, shallow rhythm, his pulse regular. She was convinced he would be fine, however, if it weren't for that damn thing implanted in his head.

Before she sat down, Fraiser wiped his face, checking his temperature. It was still a little too high, but she expected the fever to come down soon.

Janet was reading in a magazine when the Colonel started shifting. She dropped the paper and stepped closer to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

O'Neill opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times, and then some kind of recognition flooded over his face. He smiled wearily at the female doctor.

"Hi, Colonel," she greeted him, "how do you feel?"

The Colonel arched his brows, assessing his condition. He winced as he tried to move his right arm; the fresh bullet wounds sending stabs of pain through his body. "That hurts… what happened?" he croaked.

Janet looked into his confused eyes and wondered how much he remembered. "You were shot, Colonel. No major damage done, you were lucky. But you do need to try to hold still, however. Do you remember what happened?"

"Shot?" O'Neill looked stunned. "Nope… don't remember a thing." He became aware of the restraints, and yanked at them with his left hand, unable to pull them loose. "What's that for?" he demanded, glaring at Janet.

She sighed. "Well, that's a long story, Sir." She checked his pulse, knowing he was getting agitated.

"I'm not going anywhere," he opted, signaling at the restraints.

She smiled. "That's true. Let me get you something to drink first." She gathered a glass of water, added a straw and held it in front of him so he could sip. "Someone implanted some sort of mind-control device in your head, Sir. Apparently designed for you to shoot General Hammond," she started her explanation.

He almost choked in his water and started coughing while raising his upper body up from the bed as far as the restraints allowed him. "WHAT?"

"Easy, Sir. You were able to keep in control somehow. You didn't actually shoot the General…" she soothed, not wanting him to disturb himself.

"Did I hurt anybody else?" he snapped, needing to know.

She shook her head. "No, Sir. You left the safety on the gun. One of the guards shot you, he didn't know that."

Jack sighed in relief and leaned back into the pillows. The guard was not to blame. He hadn't hurt anybody. Yet. "So that thing, it's still in there?" He wiggled his head, trying to detect it.

"Yes, Sir."

"Why didn't you take it out?"

"I tried, Colonel. You seized and arrested, I almost lost you…" She gave him an apologetic look.

He made a face. "Shit…" He looked at the door. "Is there a guard at the door?" He watched her shake her head. "Arrange for one, just in case. Let him shoot me again, if necessary."

Janet winced at the idea, not liking it a bit.

"Go on, do it," he ordered, his eyes determined.

She nodded slowly, turning to head to a phone. Looking back over her shoulder, she noticed how tired he looked. "Okay. You just rest, Sir."

* * *

"Okay people, I need answers. What did you find at Colonel O'Neill's house?" General Hammond knew he was pushing his men hard but they had to find some clues in order to help his Second. The investigation team had spent several hours at the house and he hoped they had come up with some useable evidence.

Major Connors, head of the investigation team the General had ordered to the Colonel's house, fumbled with the papers in front of him on the table. He didn't like what he had to tell the General, which was basically nothing. "Sir. Everything was clean. These people covered their tracks. The bedroom was messed up. It looks like they surprised Colonel O'Neill in his sleep, but he apparently put up a fight. We think the Colonel had taken some aspirin; Teal'c and Dr. Jackson found the bottle in the bathroom. Major Carter has examined it in the lab and found out that the tablets were laced with a sedative." Connors looked briefly at Major Carter, who nodded affirmatively.

"So at some point there was an intruder in his house but we found no evidence of burglary," Daniel filled in. "The aspirins with the sedative explain at least how they were able to get close to Jack. Normally nobody would have been able to take him by surprise like that."

"Maybe that's why he was in a fight. It was all a set up, leading to his kidnapping. They obviously knew the Colonel very well, that he wouldn't go to the infirmary for treatment, but would try to shake off the effects of the fight with just an aspirin," Major Carter's face lit up, suddenly understanding a piece of the puzzle. She was still very disturbed by the turn of events. She needed a clue about what had happened, but until now they had only been able to guess and the rest was a dead end.

"General Hammond, who would benefit from your death?" As always, Teal'c asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

The General seemed to be surprised by the question, even though he had also been racking his brain for the answer. "Teal'c, it could be a number of individuals. We need more information to know who they are. Maybe we should concentrate on the Colonel. Dr. Fraiser, has Colonel O'Neill been able to remember anything about what happened?"

"No, Sir. The Colonel woke up but didn't have a clue about what had happened. He was very shocked and ordered me to post a guard outside his room, to shoot him if he tries to escape. General, I've been thinking. Something must have triggered this. I mean, I assume he has been here in the Mountain for a while. Has anyone noticed him acting unusual at all? Daniel, did you guys see the Colonel during your downtime?" Janet knew how close this team had become and would be surprised if they hadn't met during their time off.

"No Janet, we didn't see him at all. We tried to find him on Saturday, we stopped by his house but he wasn't home. His truck was there, but we thought he had probably left with someone." Daniel sighed, guilt evident in his voice, "I guess he did, not by choice though."

Sam ignored the conversation; she was deep in thought. She couldn't believe she had failed to recognize what Janet had pointed out. "She's right, Sir. Something had to set him off. He had been on the base all day. We saw him earlier this morning and he did seem distracted, but he wasn't violent." Carter stopped talking, her face deep in concentration. "The Stargate," she blurted out, "the Stargate activated; that's the trigger! That has to be it." Sam was certain she was right.

"Major, how do we determine if your assessment is correct?" General Hammond knew he wouldn't like the answer to this question but they had to figure out what had happened.

"Sir," she stammered. "We need to activate the Stargate with the Colonel in the Gate room and see what his reactions are. We can take every precaution, Sir."

"What? You saw how hard it was for Jack to fight this. He was willing to sacrifice himself! We don't know what being subjected to this again will do to him." Daniel couldn't believe they would put his friend in this situation again. "There has got to be an alternative, the risk is just too high."

"Daniel Jackson, it will be a controlled situation, I will not allow O'Neill to harm the General. Or himself." With confidence in his voice, Teal'c was trying to alleviate the obvious concerns and fears of the team. He knew their CO would not be able to forgive himself if he harmed the General or anyone else.

"Dr. Fraiser, what do you think about all this?" General Hammond knew what he had to do but he wanted the Doctor's opinion on this before he decided.

"I don't know if Colonel O'Neill will agree to this, Sir. Even if he does consent to this test, I have no way of knowing how this device is affecting him, there is no way to know if it will harm him." Janet was not comfortable with this whole scenario. It was like beating your head against a wall to make a headache go away. She knew the General had already made up his mind and was just following the proper procedure by asking her advice. "Besides, does he need to be close to the Stargate? Or will he hear or sense an activation even in the infirmary?"

"I don't think so," Sam objected. "SG-6 returned home a few hours ago, and I don't think the Colonel has reacted to that, has he?"

Fraiser shook her head, knowing her friend was right.

Hammond had listened to all arguments and made up his mind. "Well, people. I don't think we have a lot of options here. We need to know what activates the device. Dr. Fraiser, make sure Colonel O'Neill gets a good night's rest and prepare all necessary equipment to monitor his condition during this test. We will proceed at 0900 in the morning. I will be in the infirmary later on to talk with him, if we are right about the trigger that shouldn't be a problem. Dismissed." General Hammond stood to leave the briefing room and to walk to his office.

"Janet, would it be okay if we visit Jack?" Daniel desperately wanted to make sure his friend was all right. Jack had been asleep the last time Daniel had visited the infirmary.

"Yes, Daniel, I think the Colonel would like that. Just don't stay too long, he still needs to rest." Janet had no intention of leaving the Colonel; she wanted to be there when the General showed up. She was concerned how her patient would respond to this latest development.

* * *

_**well, well... there is some progress. Is it really the Stargate that is triggering this device, and what will happen when they place Jack in the Gateroom? Will he start killing people? Can he fight it again? Will Teal'c be able to keep everybody safe? Find out in the next chapter!**_


	5. In the gateroom

_**Oh-uh.... they are going to get Jack into the gateroom.... how is that going to end? An extra long chapter. Enjoy!  
**_

* * *

"Uh, hi, Jack how you feeling?" Stupid, real stupid, Daniel thought. Couldn't he come up with something better to say?

"Oh, just peachy, Daniel. Especially for someone who tried to kill his CO. How the hell do you think I am doing?" O'Neill was barely able to contain his anger. He knew his team was trying to support him, but lying strapped to this bed and not able to help with this situation was wearing him down. "I assume my house was checked for evidence. Did they find anything?"

"We found an opened container of aspirin that was laced with a sedative. Do you remember taking any of it?" Carter was trying to piece together what might have transpired. "I'm sorry, Sir, but no other evidence was found to help us determine who is responsible for this…"

The Colonel was deep in thought trying to remember the events of the last week. All he had were jumbled memories. It felt like he was dreaming or sleepwalking. He was unable to grasp onto anything tangible. "Yeah, I seem to remember taking something for a headache. But I don't know …. I can't remember… what day that was." God, why couldn't he remember? What had happened during that time? He was trained to resist mind control, wasn't he?

Daniel was watching his friend closely. He saw the tight closed look that flashed across Jack's face. He knew the man would be blaming himself, even though in his drugged state, Jack was not responsible for his actions. "Jack, you beat it, you fought it and won! Janet will figure out a way to remove that thing and you will be back to being your sarcastic self."

O'Neill gave him a doubtful look and then faced the only female on SG-1. "Carter, have you figured out what triggered this?"

Sam wasn't sure whether to answer this question. Obviously the Colonel had not been resting but had been thinking about the whole situation instead. She knew he was not one to lay back and let someone else take care of a problem. "Sir, I…"

"Yes, Colonel, we think we have……" General Hammond walked into the room and saved Carter from her stammering.

All eyes turned to General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser, who followed close behind him. As he approached the bed they all waited for the reaction from their friend.

"Well, Sir. Since I don't have the urge to shoot you, I guess the Stargate is to blame. Am I right? I remember the Stargate activating and that's when my brain shut down. Although I know it does that a lot." O'Neill was trying to instill a little humor into the grim faces of his friends, but he knew his suspicions were correct.

"Yes, Sir. The Stargate appears to have been the trigger to activate the device in your head," Carter stated with no emotion. She was keeping the turmoil hidden for the moment. Her CO depended on her to come up with a solution to this crisis.

Hammond knew how difficult this would be on O'Neill. His Second hated situations he could not control and this definitely fell into that category. "Colonel, we need to know for a fact that the Stargate was the triggering mechanism. We are planning on placing you near the Gate in order to determine for sure. All precautions will be taken. It will be a controlled situation. Only essential personnel will be present."

O'Neill thought it over for a second. "I'll do it under one condition. If I become a threat to anyone, I don't want you to hesitate to give the order to shoot, Sir. Teal'c, I want you there to make sure I don't harm anybody. There's no need for Daniel or Carter to be in close proximity to me." Jack's brown-eyed stare was leveled towards his CO demanding his full attention. He had to make sure the General understood his wishes. "General?"

"Colonel, you have my word," Hammond pledged. "Teal'c can use his zat if the need arises. We will proceed with this at 0900 tomorrow."

Teal'c stood straight and bowed his head. "I will make sure you cannot harm anyone, O'Neill."

"Doctor Fraiser, will the Colonel be well enough to proceed with this tomorrow?" the General asked.

"Well, his wounds are superficial, but he will be quite sore and stiff, Sir. I can't condone this action, however." Janet looked at the Colonel. She knew how determined he would be to stop this before someone else was injured or possibly killed.

Daniel couldn't believe he was being excluded from this. "Jack, I don't agree, I think Sam and I need to be there. If it doesn't go as planned we might be able to help." The linguist didn't like to stand by and watch his friend from a distance.

"No way, Daniel. I don't want to be responsible for harming either one of you…….." Jack was determined to keep Carter and Daniel as far away from this little experiment as possible. The former Black Ops Officer knew he didn't need a weapon to inflict serious damage or even kill another human being.

"I have to agree with Colonel O'Neill here. Only Teal'c will be present in the Gate room besides the security guards and myself," Hammond decided. "Colonel, get some rest," with these words he ended the conversation and rose, preparing to leave the room.

"Yes, Sir. See you bright and early. Don't forget the party favors," Jack as usual was falling back on humor to lighten the mood.

"Jack, let us help…" Daniel pleaded again.

"Daniel, hold it! This is my decision and it's final! Understood?" God, Jack thought, frustrated by the whole situation. The stubborn man just wouldn't let it go. Why couldn't he see how much danger was involved in this? Seeing the disappointment clearly in the linguist's face he went for another approach. "Look, I really don't need to be concerned about you and Carter. I'm going to have to devote my full attention and energy to fighting this thing. Besides, I know you will be close by to help if necessary."

That seemed to satisfy his friend, Daniel relaxed his stance and his arms fell to his sides. "Of course you're right, Jack. I just don't like this standing around and not being able to help."

"Did you hear that? Daniel admitted that I was right for once! Somebody write this day down!" Jack was grinning despite the serious mess he was in.

Daniel had to smirk. "Well Jack, Janet told us not to upset you. I thought I better agree with you this time even though as usual you are wrong." He made sure to emphasize that last word with a slight snicker.

Teal'c cocked his head and looked at both men. He was enjoying this bantering going on between his two friends. The next morning would be a very different mood for all of them.

"Okay, kids. Let's all try and get some sleep. See you guys in the morning." Jack knew that he was once again the cause of worry and concern for his team. Damn, he was the team leader. His job was to alleviate stress, not to cause it.

O'Neill gave them a nod and a slight grin and tried to relax his muscles. After his friends had exited the room, he exhaled a long breath. How had he managed to get into this mess? He only hoped that Teal'c and the security guards could prevent him from harming Hammond or anyone else. He also knew that even if tomorrow turned out all right he still would have that damn device in his head. Sighing heavily, he tried to find a comfortable position to get some sleep.

* * *

At 0900 the next morning, General Hammond had cleared the Gate room of all personnel except for himself, Teal'c and the four security guards he had picked. The SF's were armed with their side-arms, Teal'c being the only one with a zat. The General didn't want to take the risk that his 21C would accidentally be shot twice with a zat. Daniel and Major Carter were in the Control Room to activate the Stargate. The video camera was running to record Colonel O'Neill's reactions. It was Doctor Fraiser's idea; she thought the information could be valuable for further examination of the device. Janet was also present in the Control Room with her special equipment to read O'Neill's vital signs from a distance.

"Major Carter, ask Colonel O'Neill to join us." The General had decided to have the Colonel come in first and then activate the Stargate. Carter had suggested the idea, to determine any reaction to seeing the dormant structure first. They all looked anxiously towards the blast doors as O'Neill entered the room, one hand stuffed deep in his pocket, the other resting in a sling.

"Aaah, the gang's all here. I guess it's time to get this show on the road, huh?" Jack smiled at his CO but General Hammond could see the turmoil in those expressive brown eyes. Since the Colonel didn't seem to react to seeing the Stargate, nor to seeing Hammond, the General decided to continue with the second part of the test.

"Colonel, whenever you are ready. Major Carter is standing by." Hammond wanted his Second to have the choice to start this unpleasant event. That would at least give the man some control over the situation.

"Okay, people, is everybody ready?" Jack looked at the faces surrounding him and received affirmative nods. His gaze settled on Teal'c, demandingly, pleadingly and the big Jaffa nodded his understanding. "Carter, dial it up!"

As the chevrons locked into place O'Neill heard the sounds of a zat gun activating, aimed in his direction. The Stargate turned and turned, then the wormhole established. Jack immediately could hear the voices in his head. He spun around and locked his gaze on the General; his breathing increasing. He tried hard to maintain his control and didn't notice the sweat that was appearing all over his face.

_Come on, Jack. Focus. You can do this. Fight this._

_Break his neck with your bare hands! _

_No! You can't!_

_Kill that man._

_Stop it!_

O'Neill struggled to free his right arm out of the sling and pressed both hands firmly against his temples. He closed his eyes and shook his head wildly, in an attempt to shake off the battle that was going on inside his head.

_Fight this. You must fight this._

_Don't hurt anyone…_

_Kill him, you can do this._

_Please, no._

_No._

_No… no… no._

Everyone present could see the battle going on in the Colonel's mind. He was waging a fight with his own subconscious, trying desperately to overcome the device's effects.

Janet was watching her patient closely. She was concerned how this incident would affect him physically and mentally. They had no idea what damage the foreign object was doing to his body but the monitors showed her a rapidly increasing heartbeat and elevating blood pressure.

Jack was swaying unsteadily on his feet and then he collapsed onto his knees holding his head in his hands. Teal'c immediately rushed to his CO and eased him into a prone position. O'Neill moaned softly and didn't let go of his head, his face and neck covered in sweat, his whole body shuddering.

Fraiser's alarmed voice echoed through the Gate room. "Abort! Now!"

"O'Neill…" Teal'c frowned, deeply worried by the sight of O'Neill. It was apparent that his CO was in excruciating pain. When he got no response, he looked up to the General. "General Hammond, I believe we need Doctor Fraiser's assistance."

The General made his decision quickly. "Shut down the Stargate!" he ordered. He hoped the disengaging wormhole would release the pressure on the Colonel's head. He left the Security Guards on full alert, just in case. He was about to order Doctor Fraiser to come down when the blast doors opened and the small doctor ran through.

Janet rushed forward and knelt beside O'Neill. "Colonel? Can you hear me?" She was already checking his pulse, her touch confirming what the equipment had already told her. His pulse was racing and he was breathing in short, shallow gasps. Next she checked his pupils making sure to keep contact with him at all times. She was worried about his lack of response. He closed his eyes and his face was screwed up from the pain.

She gently touched his head, trying to move the cramped hands that were still cradling it. This time, he did respond, groaning out loud, withdrawing from her touch.

"Damn, damn, damn. It hurts …" Jack was gasping for breath, pain evident in his voice. He moved, turning to crouch on his hands and knees, leaning his head forward on the floor. When it didn't release him from the pain, he hit the floor with one clenched fist before rolling over on his side; his knees bent and he grabbed his head again, moaning deeply.

Two medics dropped by O'Neill's side, a gurney ready. Fraiser nodded at them and they lifted the Colonel onto it. She addressed the General. "Sir, I need to get the Colonel to the infirmary."

Hammond had silently watched the scene in front of him, a worried expression on his face. He was having a hard time fighting off the feeling of guilt, he'd been the one ordering his Second to go through this. He had never expected anything like this; he had thought shutting down the Stargate would have resolved all problems. Quite apparently it had not. Biting his lip he just nodded at his CMO and watched the group heading to the infirmary.

* * *

Back in the infirmary, Doctor Fraiser rapidly issued orders to her team. She needed an MRI scan, blood tests. She needed answers, but she knew it would be hard to get them.

Shit, shit, shit.

The Colonel was rolling from one side to the other on the bed, with his knees bent, still holding his head between both hands. Janet firmly grabbed one arm, apologizing for the discomfort and expertly put in an IV-line with a strong pain medication.

"Try to hold still, Colonel, the meds will kick in soon," she softly informed him without releasing his arm and watched how he slowly started to relax as the medication did its job.

He rolled on his back, covering his eyes with his other arm and sighed out loud. "Oh, God…"

"Better now, Sir?"

"Oh, yeah. What was that?"

"I don't know yet, Colonel. I don't know. But we'll figure this out, I promise," she said, patting his arm. "We're going to run some tests, then I need to look at those bullet wounds, they're bleeding again. Afterwards, I want you to rest, okay?"

"Rest… sounds good," he said, his voice soft. He had no energy left to give her as much as a weak smile, then his eyes closed as he drifted away.

* * *

Hammond sat behind his desk, absently stirring his already cold coffee. He'd been searching his memory to come up with possible enemies. Who had the reason, the nerve, the knowledge and the opportunity to initiate an action like this?

He couldn't stop the feeling that the device was at least not an Earth technology, so that narrowed the suspects down to the few hundreds of people who in one way or the other had access to the Stargate program.

Although he hoped he was wrong, he just couldn't stop thinking in the direction of the NID. They not only had access to alien technology, they also had connections that went higher than he could even imagine. The second Gate was dismantled as far as he knew, but…

Could he be sure?

He _had_ pissed some people off by shutting down the rogue group that was stealing alien technologies. Colonel O'Neill _had_ had a major role in that as well.

It was the only logical conclusion he could come up with. It was a great opportunity to get even with two people at once by having Jack eliminate him and O'Neill in turn either shot, imprisoned or locked up in the loony bin.

But how? Where had they gotten the device? Who was able to implant a thing like that? How was this going to help him, and O'Neill?

He still had one contact at the NID he trusted completely. He'd saved the man's life twice back in the sixties. Decision made, Hammond grabbed the phone and dialed.

* * *

He made sure no one noticed him when he entered Colonel O'Neill's office. He carefully closed the door behind him and sat down behind the Colonel's desk. Grabbing a tissue, he folded it over the telephone before picking it up and dialed a number.

"Yeah," a low, rough voice answered shortly.

"It's me, Sir. It didn't work. He managed to fight it twice."

"Mmm," the voice mumbled, apparently impressed. "He won't the third time, though, or it will kill him."

"They've also discovered that the Stargate sets it off, Sir."

"Yeah, yeah, I counted on that. There's another trigger, however and I doubt that Major Carter has discovered that yet. She's smart, but not that smart…" the voice responded. "Stay low, and see what happens. Don't call me again. We'll talk to each other on our next meeting." With that last remark the voice ended the conversation and broke off the connection.

He slowly put the receiver back on the phone. Other trigger? He didn't know about the second trigger. They had failed to fill him in on that. Not that it mattered. He was on his post and knew what he had to do.

He rose to his feet and swiftly left the Colonel's office.

* * *

_**Sooooo... who is that? And who did he call? And what about that second trigger..... are you curious yet?**_


	6. Can the Tok'ra help?

_**thanks for the reviews again! Enjoy the next chapter.**_

* * *

Later that afternoon, Carter stepped into the Colonel's room, to find Fraiser sitting next to the bed. The doctor looked up from her chart and greeted her friend with a soft voice.

Sam approached the bed, examined the sleeping figure with a frown. "How is he, Janet?"

"All things considered… not too bad. I've got him on some pretty heavy pain medication and a mild sedative to relieve the pain in his head and help him sleep. He was exhausted from the ordeal; it has worn him out completely."

"Have you tried cutting back on the medication? I mean; is the device still causing him pain?" Sam wondered.

Janet shook her head. "I'll find that out later. First, I want him to sleep for a couple of hours. I think he needs it." She showed Carter the latest scans and photos. "The device is still there. But take a look at that…" she pointed on a little piece that appeared to be sticking out of the device.

Sam took a closer look, a stunned expression on her face. "What's that? That wasn't there on the last photo, was it?"

The doctor fidgeted in her stuff and gathered the older photo. "No. It wasn't there. You tell me what that is, I haven't got a clue."

"I wonder if it's supposed to do this… Do you think this is what's causing the pain in his head?"

"That's a possibility," Fraiser agreed, "I don't want to find out what happens to the damn thing if it comes near the Stargate again."

"Oh, no. It might send an even longer spike through his head. Has that thing harmed him physically?" Carter was suddenly afraid this device could do a lot more damage to her CO than initially thought. She'd been more worried about the actions the device could trigger her CO to undertake than about the possibility of brain damage. She stared at the doctor, fear in her eyes.

"I can't tell, Sam," Janet shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "We just have to wait and see. But we need to figure this out, and soon, or this could kill him."

* * *

"People I need answers. What happened to Colonel O'Neill?" It had been six hours since the incident in the Gate room, they were getting nowhere and General Hammond was getting desperate.

"Sir, it appears there may be some sort of change on the device itself," Major Carter started. "The Colonel was able to fight off the effects of the mind control. It appears the implant is able to inflict severe pain if the order is not carried out. It somehow has sent a small spike through his brain. I don't know however why this didn't happen the first time when it was triggered or what it might do next." Sam had been spending all day trying to figure out what had happened. She thought this device might be similar to the Zatarc programming that the Goa'uld had developed, although with the Zatarc incident the victims had killed themselves.

Despite the long hours in her lab, she still had nothing to offer but guesses. "Perhaps the first time, the Colonel was in pain from the gunshot wound, and failed to mention the headache," she wondered.

Daniel interrupted her. "No, Sam… You saw him the last time. It's not possible that he just failed to notice something like this the first time!"

She nodded, assuming Daniel was right. "There was also no spike sticking out of the device after the first incident. Maybe it reacts to each failure to complete the orders. It could be added incentive to get the victim to carry out his orders."

"Oh, God. We've got to do something. I can't believe we can't figure this out." Out of frustration, Daniel hit the table hard with his fist.

"Sir, perhaps the Tok'ra have heard of this technology," Major Carter was as disturbed and just as desperate to bring this whole nightmare to an end.

"Teal'c, do the Goa'uld have a device like this?" General Hammond knew the longer this situation went on, the more danger Colonel O'Neill was in. They had to find out who was responsible for this.

"General Hammond, the Goa'uld have many of mind controlling devices. However, I have never seen one that is implanted into one's head, as this one is," Teal'c stated. "I do not believe this device is of Goa'uld origin."

"Major Carter, you have my permission to contact the Tok'ra. Maybe Sel'mac knows what this thing is." Hammond decided to call for all the help he could get. "Dr. Jackson, could you please contact the Tollan, hopefully they have some ideas, too."

He turned to Dr. Fraiser. "Doctor, how is Colonel O'Neill holding on?"

"He has been sleeping for six hours, Sir, aided by pain medication and a mild sedative. I've tried to cut down on the pain medication, but he became restless immediately. It's my guess that he'll be in a considerable amount of pain without them. I believe that the small spike sticking out of the device is causing that."

General Hammond sighed. "How are those bullet wounds healing?"

"They're healing just fine, Sir. And so are the bruises from the fight he's been in."

"Is the Colonel still restrained? Does he need to be, down in the infirmary?" Hammond wondered out loud.

Fraiser shook her head. "We've been discussing that, Sir." She motioned at Sam. "We think it's safe, as long as he doesn't come close to the Stargate. It is rather uncomfortable for him, to be strapped down. There's still a guard posted at the door, Sir."

Hammond, apparently deep in thought, nodded slightly, agreeing with what they'd come up with. "Teal'c, I want you to stay close to Colonel O'Neill. Make sure he doesn't do anything he'll regret later."

"I will leave immediately, General Hammond," Teal'c rose to his feet, bowed at the people present in the room and headed towards the door.

With that, Hammond closed the briefing, satisfied that at least every possible action to solve the problem had been taken. He left and headed to his office.

* * *

Sam Carter ran down the stairs, through the blast doors into the Gate room. The Stargate was turning, the chevrons locking in place. Somebody was trying to reach Earth and she was waiting for him.

Her father.

Receiving the correct signal to confirm the identity of the incoming traveler, the airman on duty opened the iris and the blue liquid enlightened the Gate room.

General Jacob Carter, alias Sel'mac, stepped through and smiled at the sight of his daughter awaiting him. "Hi, kiddo," he greeted her.

"Hi, Dad. Glad you could come. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm great. How about you? What's going on?" General Carter was always worried when he was invited to the SGC. Seeing his daughter alive and well had relieved him only a bit. He immediately sensed the tension in her voice and the concern in her features.

"It's Colonel O'Neill," she said, motioning for him to follow her. "Let's go to the infirmary. I'll tell you all about it there."

Wondering what could possibly be wrong with the Colonel that they needed his assistance, he followed her to the infirmary. She took him to O'Neill's room and showed him the sleeping figure on the bed.

General Carter silently greeted the Jaffa, who had taken his position at the foot end of the bed and threw another close look at O'Neill. Although the man on the bed looked rather pale and Carter did detect some bandages around the man's chest, it still gave him no clue about the source of the problem. He was sure the Colonel had had worse than this, so he figured something else had to be going on; something the eye couldn't see.

When he sat down in Dr. Fraiser's office, his suspicions were confirmed. Dr. Fraiser showed him the scans of O'Neill's head and he bent forward to examine the device that was embedded behind the Colonel's ear. "What the heck is that?" He'd never seen anything like it.

"We were kinda hoping you could tell us," Sam said, disappointment evident in her voice. "As far as we know, it's a mind controlling device and it is currently programmed to force the Colonel to eliminate General Hammond."

General Carter inhaled sharply. "Wow! That's NOT good at all…" he frowned, thinking it over. "Then why is Colonel O'Neill not restrained?"

"We've determined that the device needs to be triggered before it can affect the victim's behavior. It only activates coming in close contact to the Stargate in motion. Even so, Colonel O'Neill has been able to fight it off until now," Sam explained.

"As you can see on this photo," Fraiser pointed at the scan. "The device has sent a small spike into the Colonel's head, causing excruciating pain. He is on strong pain medication, but we can't keep him on that dose forever. We have reason to think the device will respond different each time it's triggered. We can't risk another activation, Sir. We have no idea what damage would be done to the Colonel's brain." Janet closed her chart after giving her report to the Tok'ra.

General Carter nodded, his face in stunned surprise and he faced Sam. "I've never seen anything like this, Sammie. Neither has Sel'mac. I'll have to contact others to see what they come up with. How much time does he have?"

Janet gave him the answer. "Hard to tell, Sir. We also don't know what the device will do with the passage of time."

"Then I'd better get going. Can I take one of those with me?" Carter pointed at one of the photos.

Janet took one, shoved it in an envelope and handed it to him. "Good luck, Sir. For Colonel O'Neill's sake.

* * *

_**Hopefully Selmac will know what to do next.... And what will happen when that second trigger goes off? Stay tuned....**_

* * *


	7. What about the Tollan?

_**And on with the story... will somebody be able to help Jack before the second trigger goes off?**_

* * *

The three remaining members of SG-1 along with Dr. Fraiser were seated as General Hammond paced in front of the window overlooking the Stargate.

"Dr. Jackson, did the Tollan have any information concerning this technology?" The General slid into his seat looking at the archaeologist hoping for answers.

Daniel had been dreading this moment, "Yes, Sir. They actually know of the existence of this device but they have no knowledge of the technology. Among the Tollan," the archaeologist was visibly nervous, "there had been a scientist who requested permission to experiment with similar devices that had been confiscated from highly sophisticated alien races. A brainwashing device like the one in Jack's head has never been in their possession according to High Chancellor Travelle. The scientist in question was so upset with the lack of support and cooperation from his government that he left Tollana about six months ago. Rumor has it that he has been selling his skills to anyone who would let him continue his experiments."

"Oh my God!" Dr. Fraiser was stunned by this information. "You think this man is working with someone in our government?"

"Let's not jump to any conclusion here people." General Hammond knew the implications of what this could mean. "There is no way this man could be here on Earth." The man was clearly thinking out loud. "Unless there is someone else working with him and the information is being covertly passed to the person or persons responsible for this."

"But Sir, this is an extremely complicated piece of technology. It would take a highly skilled medical doctor to implant this into the Colonel's brain," Major Carter interjected.

"Janet, do you think if a Doctor had access to schematics of this device he could perform the procedure?"

"Well, I suppose so, though the human brain is extremely complicated. It would be a very dangerous procedure." Dr. Fraiser was horrified by the implications of this conversation. "Most of our training is hands-on with an experienced physician watching over our shoulders talking us through the procedures. Even videos are training tools."

"Dr. Jackson, what is your opinion of this assumption?"

"High Chancellor Travelle didn't say this individual was responsible for this, but she definitely made me think it could be a possibility. She also said they would investigate the matter themselves." Daniel had been listening intently. "If this scientist is responsible for trading information with someone on Earth then we have another mole in the SGC." He couldn't believe there could still be a traitor in the SGC after Makepeace and the rogue team's operation had been shut down. Could this man be working with the same group? This had to be retaliation against Jack and General Hammond. Makepeace had said orders came from high up. The archaeologist absently pushed his glasses back on his nose and stared over the table to General Hammond.

"Daniel Jackson, I believe this is the way to help O'Neill." Teal'c had been silent trying to absorb the information in order to find a way to help his CO, but now voiced his opinion.

"Okay, people. I think we need to review the personnel files. Let's flag anyone who has been here less than six months and has access to the Stargate. Also, pay close attention to where the transfer originated." General Hammond didn't even want to think about the possibility of a traitor in the SGC. He was torn between not wanting this information to be correct, but if it was true this would be the opportunity to help his Second. He also had his own contact he hoped would have some useful information.

"Let's get to it, people. Give me something positive." With that last remark, the General ended the meeting.

* * *

General Hammond walked through the park. It was a sunny day and the place was crowded at this hour. Lots of children were playing ballgames, riding their bikes and rolling on their skateboards. Mothers with infants and toddlers in strollers were walking on the paths, others feeding the ducks in the pond in the center of the park.

Hammond was dressed in casual clothes, hoping he wouldn't draw any attention. He carried a small briefcase with a newspaper, looking like some sort of businessman taking an afternoon break from his office.

He approached a bench near the pond and sat down with a soft sigh, placed the briefcase next to his right leg, setting the newspaper on his lap. There was another man seated on the bench, deeply concentrating on his magazine, with a black hat and dark sunglasses covering his eyes. The man didn't pay any attention to Hammond at all; didn't look up as the General took his seat.

Opening his newspaper, Hammond softly greeted his contact, without looking at him. "Hi, John. What have you got?"

The other man kept reading in his magazine and turned the page. "George. You've pissed some people off real good by messing up their little program," the man whispered.

Hammond knew that already, but now his suspicions were at least confirmed. "What are they on to?" he asked, crossing his legs comfortably, leaning backwards as if reading his paper.

"They've come up with some plan to get rid of you. They kidnapped O'Neill and sort of programmed him to do the dirty job for them."

"How?"

"I don't know the details. They've got their hands on a new toy. Captain Potter is their technician. That's all I can tell you." The man closed his magazine, indicating he was ready to leave the scene.

"Thanks," Hammond hissed.

"Watch your back," the man responded, rose to his feet and left without looking over his shoulder.

Hammond forced himself to calmly read his newspaper before leaving the park to go back to the SGC. He cursed inwardly. He knew a little bit more now, but still had no clue how to solve the mess they were in.

* * *

After spending several hours going over personnel files with Sam and Teal'c and coming up empty handed, the archaeologist needed to see his friend. Entering the infirmary, Daniel approached Jack's bed and sat down beside it. Gently laying his hand on the Colonel's arm, he couldn't believe how quiet and still the man looked. It didn't suit the picture of the Jack O'Neill he knew so well.

Dr. Fraiser came in and adjusted the IV with the Colonel's medication. "I'm cutting down the sedative and lowering the pain medication," she explained. "It's time for him to wake up now." She gently lifted O'Neill's hand and felt his pulse.

Daniel frowned, absorbing the information. "Janet, do you think that is a good idea after the last episode?"

"Daniel, keeping the Colonel heavily sedated could be dangerous as well. We have no way of knowing if there are any side effects from the device. I need the Colonel awake so he can tell me."

"You…. don't think he is in pain?" Daniel noticed that his friend became restless.

"Daniel," Janet gently laid her hand on the linguist's shoulder, glancing at the equipment which displayed O'Neill's vital signs. "The monitors show his heart rate and pulse are increasing. His blood pressure is also slightly elevated already. This could indicate that he is in fact experiencing discomfort. What I need now is information and I need him to give it to me."

"So, it's a wait and see game…." Daniel wanted his friend awake but he was very concerned what would happen when Jack woke up. Would he be able to fight off the effects of the device? How much pain would he be in? What permanent damage would the device have done to his friend already?

"Yes, it is, Daniel. I know you are upset and worried about the Colonel. We all are." Dr. Fraiser tried to keep her voice calm and reassuring. "Colonel O'Neill should wake up in the next few hours."

Daniel sighed out loud. "Is it okay if I stay and wait for him to wake up?" He didn't want to leave just yet.

"Did you find any leads in the personnel files?" Janet wanted to know.

"Nothing yet." Daniel desperately threw his hands in the air. "The computer did flag several possibilities from the profile we entered. Sam and Teal'c are checking them out now. I really should help them but I want to be here when Jack wakes up." Daniel was torn between staying with his friend and helping to find the man possibly responsible for this.

The doctor smiled at the archaeologist. "I'm sure Sam and Teal'c can handle it alone. Stay here with the Colonel and I will check back in a little while. Have the nurses page me when he wakes up." Janet touched her patient's shoulder and walked through the door passing the guards on the way out.

* * *

_**Well, we know a little bit more now, do we.... What do you think, and how is this going to help Jack?**** And no, the first name of Captain Potter is NOT Harry, grin**_


	8. Sam and Teal'c are onto something

"Teal'c, look at this. Captain Leon Williams was transferred from the Pentagon six weeks ago. Colonel Kennedy signed his papers. He could be the mole, Teal'c!" Major Carter was trying to remain neutral, but it was getting difficult. "This guy has been assigned to SG-9 and this team has been off world on a weekly basis for several weeks. I think he could have had ample opportunity to make contact with this Tollan scientist."

"Daniel Jackson did say that High Chancellor Travelle would be investigating this matter. Perhaps they have been able to locate the scientist. It is possible that SG-9 has visited this location recently. This could prove that Williams is the man we are looking for." If this man was the traitor, Teal'c wanted to take part in the interrogation.

Carter gave a satisfied nod. "I'll make a list of the planets SG-9 has visited during the last six weeks, check his background, see where this guy comes from, where he was stationed prior to his assignment to the SGC and what he has done until today. Then I suggest we report back to the General and ask permission to contact High Chancellor Travelle. Hopefully this is our break."

Glad she had something concrete to work on, Sam's fingers ran over the keyboard, retrieving the addresses of the planets where SG-9 had been. While the printer did its job, she used another computer to access a background profile of Captain Williams.

Teal'c took the list of planets SG-9 had visited and studied them carefully. "I recognize one of the planets, Major Carter. The one your computer calls PX4583 is known as Hollumia. It is a world the Tollan have lived on for many decades."

Sam looked up from her work, nodded absently. "We'll have to ask High Chancellor Travelle about that, then. Look at this: Captain Williams was stationed at some department called FIOD before he was transferred to the Pentagon. He was still a Lieutenant then."

She didn't look up from the paper in front of her, frowning deeply as she continued. "Now that is strange... I can't come up with any information regarding the FIOD. Whatever it is, it's not listed..."

Staring at her screen in surprise, Carter continued. "At the Pentagon, Williams got his own research team and got promoted to Captain. His team was responsible for doing research on foreign biological weapons. He was stationed in the Middle East for four months where he worked close together with the UN. They were not done with their research when Colonel Kennedy called him back and transferred him here to the SGC."

"What happened to the officer that left SG-9 before Captain Williams joined the SGC?" Teal'c asked.

"Good question, Teal'c." Sam jumped up, bowed over another keyboard and printed another list. Grabbing it, she read what was on there. "Captain Miller is the one who was on SG-9 before Captain Williams was assigned to the team. Captain Miller resigned, about nine weeks ago. Now let's see if I can find anything else..." Carter once more issued some commands, then her face lit up. "Well.... that's something. Captain Potter also has worked for this FIOD..."

"Captain Potter?" Teal'c questioned.

She looked up, smiling triumphantly. "Captain Potter is one of the higher technicians of the NID... I recognized his name!"

"I think we know enough to report to General Hammond now, Major Carter," Teal'c concluded with a slight bow of his head.

She nodded. "Yes. This is all too convenient to be a coincidence. Let's go." She gathered the printed information and closed all screens on the computers she had used, not wanting to leave any traces of her research.

* * *

Daniel Jackson had been reading in a magazine the last half hour, constantly keeping an eye on his friend, who had started twisting and turning after Janet Fraiser had cut back the medication.

Jack stirred and groaned.

Daniel closed the magazine, threw it on the table and stepped closer to the bed to grab O'Neill's hand. "Hi, Jack," he greeted the older man.

O'Neill slowly opened his eyes and closed them quickly. "Oww… Can somebody turn the lights off?" he muttered as the bright light coming from the ceiling hurt his head.

Jackson hurried to the wall and shut off the lights. He rushed back to the bed. "They're off, Jack. You can open your eyes now," he tried not to show his concern at the Colonel's reaction to the light.

O'Neill opened his eyes again, blinking a couple of times. "Yeah, that's better," he said.

"That bad?" Daniel asked.

"Hmmm," the Colonel responded, pressing his palms against his temples. "It feels as if someone has run a spike through my head…"

"Well," Daniel hesitated, not knowing if he should tell his friend the truth already or not. "Actually, Jack… there is."

Jack removed his hands and stared at his friend. "What the hell?"

Daniel helplessly shrugged his shoulders. "Do you remember what happened at all?" Taking in the puzzled expression on Jack's face he reached for the alarm bell. "I'm calling Janet, okay? I think she is the most qualified person to fill you in."

It had taken Dr. Fraiser only a couple of minutes to respond as she stepped into the room. "Good evening, Colonel. How are you feeling?" If she was at least surprised by the dimmed light, she managed to hide it perfectly. She approached the bed, took in the numbers on the monitors and placed her fingers onto the Colonel's wrist to take his pulse.

"Kind of dizzy," O'Neill responded, frowning as he tried to assess his condition. Each movement sent waves of pain through his skull, so he kept his head as still as possible. "Mother of all headaches," he added.

Fraiser gave him an encouraging smile while offering him some water to sip. "That doesn't surprise me. Do you remember anything?"

"It's coming back in bits and pieces. There's something inside my head, right? Something that wants me to kill the General…" Jack moved his hands in front of his face. "I'm not restrained anymore? What happened in the Gate room?"

"You fought it, Colonel. Successfully, too. Unfortunately, the device has sent a small growth deeper into your brain, probably too small to see with the bare eye but large enough to give you that headache…" Janet explained.

"We're pretty sure that it's the Stargate that activates the device, Jack. So you and the General are safe here," Daniel added. "There are two guards at the door for extra precaution, however." With that last remark, Daniel looked rather apologetic.

"Good," Jack reassured his friend. "Don't want any surprises. I have no idea how long I can fight this thing. Is Carter onto it?" He shot an hopeful look at the petit Doctor.

"I'm afraid we haven't found anything concrete yet, Sir. The Tok'ra are unfamiliar with this device, but the Tollan might have some knowledge of it. We're looking into that right now. We haven't come up with anything to remove the damn thing," Janet was surprised by her own harsh words.

"A damn thing it is, Doc," O'Neill agreed softly. He was getting tired; his eyes were becoming too heavy to keep them open.

Dr. Fraiser rushed forward when she noticed the weariness in the Colonel's voice. "Colonel?" she urged.

"Just tired, Doc," he mumbled.

She took his pulse again. "Okay, Sir. Rest for a while."

They watched how his eyes closed, his head rolling to one side and he was fast asleep.

"Well," Daniel said after a while. "That wasn't too bad, was it?"

Janet didn't look that optimistic. "Not too bad, but his head is hurting a lot, Daniel. More than he wants to show us. I can tell by the readings on the monitors. Adding the fact that he could only stay awake for," she checked her watch, "what was it? About ten minutes? That worries me, Daniel."

Daniel stared from the still form on the bed to the female Doctor and back. "We have to figure this thing out, Janet. And we'll have to be quick about it."

"I know. Go and see what Sam and Teal'c have come up with, okay?" Janet suggested. "I'll stay with him for a while."

"Okay. I'll be back shortly to fill you in," Daniel answered, throwing one last look at his friend on the bed and then left the infirmary.

* * *

Damn.

Were they onto him?

Everywhere he went, he either ran into that stupid blond Major or that huge alien of a Jaffa.

Or was he getting paranoid?

They couldn't be on to him, could they? His tracks were covered pretty well. Nobody would suspect him, would they?

He forced himself to relax and decided to go to the commissary. His teammates would be there around this time, and he wouldn't attract any attention by joining them.

That sounded like a plan.

Just sit there, have some fun with his teammates. He must be imagining things. They couldn't have figured him out.

Without paying any attention to the Jaffa that passed him in the corridor he headed to the commissary.

* * *

_**So... Sam and Teal'c ar onto something!!! Will that be the breakthrough? On the other hand, you don't want this to end too quickly, do you?**_


	9. Interrogation

_**Let's see if Sam and Teal'c get some info....**_

* * *

Sam knocked twice on the General's door. At the sound of Hammond's voice telling her to come in she opened the door and stepped inside. "Sir," she started, looking around the office to see if they were alone.

"Major, come in. Have you found anything?" Hammond asked.

"Yes, Sir. I think we have," she started, placing the printed documents on the desk in front of the General. "We think Captain Leon Williams is our man. He transferred to the SGC only three weeks after Captain Miller's retirement, Sir. He was stationed at the Pentagon, doing research on biological weapons in the Middle East. Colonel Kennedy took him off this assignment and signed for his transfer to the SGC."

Hammond looked at the information in front of him, silently nodding in agreement.

"What's really interesting is that he was stationed at FIOD before the Pentagon assignment, Sir. He was still a Lieutenant then. Now I have no idea what that department really is, I couldn't find any information on that, but what's really interesting is that Captain Potter has worked there as well."

"Captain Potter?" the General asked sharply.

"Yes, Sir," the Major answered, not noticing the tension in Hammond's voice. "Captain Potter is one of the best technicians the NID has. He's responsible for lots of research on alien technology we bring back from our missions, Sir."

"I think you just found our mole, Major. FIOD is a cover up, fake department. The Air Force registers employees there when they don't want to register their real assignment. Good work. Have you made a list of the planets SG-9 has visited the last six weeks? Found anything?"

"Yes, Sir. The list is right there," she pointed at the papers she'd placed on the General's desk. "Teal'c identified one of the planets as a former Tollan colony, Sir. I think we have something to discuss with High Chancellor Travelle."

"Who else knows about this?"

"Only Teal'c and me, Sir. Teal'c is keeping an eye on Captain Williams right now."

"Mmm. Normally I would put somebody onto him, to watch his every move and see if he could lead us to his superiors. In this case, I think we just have to snatch him and interrogate him. I don't think Colonel O'Neill has lots of time to waste."

"I agree, Sir. Do you want me to bring him in for questioning?"

"You do that, Major. Take Major Ferretti with you for back-up, in addition to Teal'c. SG-2 has returned from their mission this morning, so the Major will still be on base and I'm sure he'd be willing to help. We don't want our mole to escape."

"No, Sir. I'll get right onto it."

"Oh, Major…" the General called her back when she was almost at the door. "Push him really hard. Put the fear of God in him. I want answers and I want them pronto. And let Dr. Jackson contact the Tollan again."

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

After having searched the base for Major Ferretti, Sam found him in the infirmary at last.

Louis Ferretti had returned from an eight-day mission off world and had heard the news on Colonel O'Neill as soon as he was back. He sat beside the Colonel's bed, softly talking with Daniel Jackson, who was filling him in on all the details.

"Hi," Carter greeted her colleagues, then checked the still figure on the bed. "How is he?"

"Jack has been sleeping, although restlessly," Daniel said. "He was awake a while ago, but he could barely last ten minutes. Dizziness and a severe headache are the main symptoms."

"I can't believe how this could have happened," Ferretti said, the anger evident in his voice. "We must have another mole in the SGC."

"We do," Sam said. She quickly reported what they'd discovered so far to the two men. "I came to ask your assistance to arrest and interrogate him."

Louis' face lit up. "Anytime, Major. I want to know how that bastard did this, who his contact is and how we can get that damn thing out of the Colonel's head."

"Daniel, the General asked you to contact the Tollan again, to discuss the list of planets SG-9 has been on, especially the one Teal'c recognized. See if you can find anything from that side, okay?" After Daniel's nod of understanding the two Majors left the infirmary, looking for Captain Williams.

* * *

Three hours later they had Leon Williams in the interrogation room, had asked him all kinds of questions, threatening him, pushing him to his limit, but the Captain had kept his mouth shut, refusing to reveal any information.

Ferretti had played the 'bad cop' role while Carter played 'good cop', but that tactic had gained them nothing. Teal'c was present, too, sitting silently, watching the scene in front of him with a stoic face.

Ferretti slammed his fist on the table, in front of the Captain's nose. "We know about your connections to Captain Potter and Colonel Kennedy. Now. Again. Who is your prime contact?"

Carter leaned back in her chair, running a tired hand through her blond hair. This wasn't going to work; the Captain was too secure and kept his mouth shut. Ferretti seemed to realize it, too, as he fell back in his chair, outraged at the situation.

A soft drumming noise drew everybody's attention to the silent Jaffa, who bent closer to the table, his strong slender fingers repeatedly tapping the table in a steady fast rhythm. "As the First Prime of Apophis, I was taught many ways to harm a victim with my bare hands," Teal'c stated emotionlessly. Moving his face closer to the Captain, the Jaffa didn't blink an eye as he continued. "Colonel O'Neill has taught me at least a dozen other ways to maim, or kill. I do not think you would like me to show you these methods, though I would enjoy it greatly."

Lou Ferretti observed the sweat that was appearing on Williams' forehead now. The mole shivered unwillingly at the words of the Jaffa, knowing that every one of them was true.

Carter played along. "Teal'c, you can't do that…"

"No, you can't," Captain Williams said, his voice still steady and firm, although they all could see the fear in his eyes. "You all get a court martial for that. This is still the United States, you know."

Ferretti feigned surprise. "Oh, is it?" He looked at his watch. "Hmm, Major," he addressed Carter. "Can I buy you a cup of coffee?"

Carter shoved her chair backwards to get up. "That would be great. I was getting thirsty."

Ferretti rose to his feet as well, without giving the young Captain another look.

Williams shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Hey! Wait a minute! You can't leave me here, alone with… with him!"

Ferretti briefly looked over his shoulder, without stopping moving towards the door. "This is still the United States, Captain. It's time for a coffee break."

"Besides," Sam added, following her colleague. "Teal'c here will be with you until we come back."

"But…" the Captain protested weakly, noticing how the huge Jaffa slowly pulled his chair closer to the table.

Lou opened the door and stepped outside the room with the female Major on his heels.

"Wait!!!!" Williams pleaded urgently. "I'll tell you all you want to know. Please…"

Carter started to close the door, slowly, without looking back.

"It's some high people at the NID. I worked with Captain Potter, he's my contact, I swear!!!" Leon Williams was almost panicking now, as the Jaffa was looking him straight into the eyes without letting go for one second. "I think it's Colonel Simmons who is the man behind all this, although it also could be somebody else... "

The door, almost closed, slowly opened and Major Carter stepped back into the room. "Colonel Simmons? Why do you think this Colonel Simmons is involved?" she demanded sharply.

The Captain hesitated.

Carter turned around, motioning to walk out again.

"No, wait!" Williams yelped. "Potter is doing some research for Colonel Simmons on alien devices. They were looking for devices which could control somebody from a distance. They had been working on the device one of the SG-teams had brought back from PR4639. They attempted to change the circuits, ran some tests with different kind of power supplies…"

Ferretti and Carter returned, closing the door behind them and sat back down again. Carter looked astonished with the given information. "Holy Hannah, you're talking about that cylinder, with which one can read somebody else's mind?" She turned to Ferretti and Teal'c. "SG-3 brought this back. I've studied it for a short period. It's somehow similar to a hand device, only this device has a switch and doesn't need the power of a Goa'uld. I think this device is called a Shak'ta-na. Are you familiar with that, Teal'c?"

The Jaffa raised his brows and nodded. "I've heard of such a device, Major Carter. But I have not seen it in use."

Sam turned back to the Captain on the other side of the table. "Are you trying to tell us that the NID has been trying to invert the mechanism, in order to write in someone's mind instead of reading from it?"

The Captain nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Yes. I think they came pretty close to the solution, although it didn't work completely. Captain Potter was unable to make it work from a distance on a subject."

"That's why they needed that Tollan scientist, then," Carter said to Ferretti.

Williams looked back at them, surprised that these people were so close. "Yes. Somebody provided Potter with the name of that Tollan guy. All they had to do was to contact him. For that, they needed somebody within the SGC, who was free to travel through the Stargate with one of the teams in order to make the contact and gather the needed information."

"So they sent you," Lou Ferretti joined into the conversation.

"Yes, Sir. I had been working for FIOD serving Captain Potter, so we knew each other well. It was all a matter of paperwork to get me transferred from the Pentagon to the SGC."

"Colonel Kennedy signed for that," Ferretti nodded in understanding.

"Does Colonel Kennedy know about the research the NID is doing?" Sam asked.

"I think so. I think he's the one pulling the strings.

"How did you contact the Tollan expert?" Ferretti wanted to know.

"That was easy, Sir. SG-9 was scheduled to visit a planet from which I could contact the Tollan rebels. I knew the next planets we were scheduled to go to, so I left the addresses with the rebels and they arranged a meeting with Dr. Travis for me on one of them. He gave me the schematics, instructions and a sample device. In return I had to hand him a list Captain Potter provided me with. I have no idea what it was, I swear. But it seemed to please Dr. Travis a great deal."

"Do you know what Captain Potter did with the schemas and instructions?" Carter asked.

"He managed to build a prototype, Ma'am. They used a dog as the test subject for the probe, planted it in its brain and tested it thoroughly. Apparently it was a success because the next I heard was that they'd found a human volunteer for the next round of tests."

"Volunteer?" Teal'c barked.

"Yeah, well," Williams stumbled. "I didn't know any more than that. But when I found out Colonel O'Neill was the one implanted with the device I knew he wouldn't have volunteered for it."

"Ya think?" Lou Ferretti shot back, angrily.

"How did the NID manage to catch the Colonel?" Sam continued, smiling softly to herself at hearing Ferretti using an all too familiar expression.

"I don't know, Ma'am. I was ordered to observe the Colonel's reactions the last couple of days and report it back to Captain Potter."

Carter eyed Ferretti. "I think we've got the picture complete, Sir."

"With all due respect, Ma'am. Now that I've laid all my cards out on the table…I noticed that you'd figured out the Stargate engaging triggered the device. I recently found out that that's not the only trigger."

"What?" Louis burst out.

"Potter told me over the phone that there's another one, Sir. I'm sorry, I don't know what it is, Sir, but there is another trigger. He was very clear on that."

"Damn," Ferretti muttered.

"We have to find out what that is, Sir." Carter looked shocked at her colleagues. "We also have to make sure the Colonel doesn't hurt anybody…"

Ferretti jumped to his feet and called in the guards. "Lock this man up, airmen. Carter, Teal'c; let's go. We've got to brief the General."

* * *

_**So... we know a little bit more now. Still excited?**_


	10. The Tollan to the rescue

_**We brought in Feretti! Don't you just love him? He should have had bigger roles in the first seasons.... he's great, he knows and respects Jack.... and somehow it's just fun to see him coming to Jack's rescue now and then. **_

* * *

Daniel watched as his best friend slept restlessly. The pain was evident on Jack's face, even in his sleep. The archaeologist let his anger and outrage spill out as he mumbled a barely audible "damn it" while throwing a dinner tray across the infirmary. He couldn't believe how his government could sanction an experiment like this one, on his friend.

Forcing himself to calm down Jackson reminded himself that it wasn't the government who was behind this whole mess, but just some part of the NID. He wished he could do something useful, something to help his friend. He'd contacted the Tollan again just an hour ago with the information Sam had come up with and knew that High Chancellor Travelle would do everything she could, but it still wasn't enough according to Daniel.

They needed something to work on, before this thing killed their friend.

The archaeologist sighed heavily, then looked up to find a pair of dark brown eyes staring intently at him. Wondering how long Jack had been watching him, he quickly regained control over his frustration and moved closer to the bed. "Jack! You're awake! How, what….."

"Daniel, slow down. Will ya? You know my brain is slow at the best of times and we both know this is not one of my better days." The Colonel was trying hard to concentrate. He'd witnessed Daniel's private outburst and knew his friend was upset about the whole situation. It was time to take matters in his own hands and help resolving things. If only his head didn't hurt so badly; he needed to be able to think straight. "Okay, Daniel. Let's try this again. What's going on? I mean beside the obvious of course..."

Daniel stared at Jack, wondering whether it would be a good idea to fill him in. He was worried about his friend, knowing from just looking at him how much effort it took O'Neill to stay awake, talk and hide his pain. On the other hand, Jack had a right to know what was going on and never liked being kept in the dark in the first place. Pulling a chair closer, the linguist sat down. "We've been able to find the mole at the SGC. Captain Leon Williams. Sam, Teal'c and Ferretti have interrogated him and now we know that at least part of the NID is involved. Apparently, they have a technician with enough knowledge to create a prototype of this device, based on information they'd gathered from a Tollan outlaw."

"So, the mole at the SGC was the one who contacted the Tollan off world?" Jack guessed.

"Yes, he was assigned to SG-9. They've been off world a lot lately. At the NID, the name of one Colonel Simmons keeps popping up, but we have no hard evidence he's behind this all. High Chancellor Travelle is trying to find the Tollan scientist as we speak."

Jack pulled a face. "You mean there's nothing else we can do but wait for _them_ to come up with something?"

"Well, Jack," Daniel tried to explain. "We know the scientist's name at the NID, but that's all we have right now. We also have been warned that beside the Stargate, something else can trigger the device, so I'd say it's pretty risky to undertake something. The most urgent thing we need at the moment is for the device either to be removed or to be neutralized."

O'Neill bit on his lip, his face dark and distant. Although he hated to be passive, he had to agree with Daniel that his hands were pretty much tied at the moment. His blood was boiling, however, to go and shake up some people at a certain department. "Simmons, Simmons..." he started, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers. "Where have I heard that name before... Isn't he the one that replaced Maybourne?"

The linguist slowly lifted his shoulders. "I have no idea," he admitted.

"Damn," O'Neill muttered. "I better not touch anything, otherwise I would have started digging in the NID's files myself. See if you or Carter can come up with something about this guy, okay?"

"I will," Daniel promised as he got up, ready to leave. "You just rest, you look like you need it. We'll do everything we can."

* * *

"Incoming traveler, incoming traveler..." the familiar voice announced over the intercom, accompanying the sound of the chevrons locking as the gate turned.

General Hammond was in the Control Room in no time, closely followed by Major Carter. "Who is it?" he demanded.

"I'm trying to get a signal, Sir... here it is. It's the Tollan, Sir."

"Open the iris," Hammond ordered, turning around to meet with his guests. "And get me Dr. Jackson. I might need him!"

"Yes, Sir!" the airman behind the control panel responded before pressing the right buttons to activate the intercom. "Dr. Jackson, to the Gate room. Dr. Jackson to the Gate room."

Hammond entered the Gate room with Carter on his heels as five people stepped through the wormhole.

Two Tollan guards were holding one man between them, apparently a prisoner. The others were a widely smiling High Chancellor and one of her bodyguards. Travelle bowed gracefully at General Hammond and Major Carter, then watched over their shoulders as the blast doors opened and Dr. Jackson came running in.

Hammond stepped forward with one outstretched hand. "High Chancellor Travelle," he greeted the Tollan woman.

"General Hammond, Major Carter, Dr. Jackson," Travelle shook the General's hand and nodded at the others. "We have succeeded in tracking down the Tollan scientist. We came here to offer our assistance in removing the device from Colonel O'Neill's head."

Hammond lifted his brows in surprise before nodding. "That is indeed good news. Please follow me to the infirmary where we can discuss this with Colonel O'Neill and his doctor."

The Tollan followed the people from Earth through the corridors of the mountain, heading for the infirmary.

They found Teal'c and two guards posted at the door to the Colonel's room.

General Hammond went inside while the others waited in the corridor. He found Dr. Fraiser just checking Colonel O'Neill's vitals.

"Colonel, Doctor," Hammond said upon entering. "If it suits you, we have some guests who would like to discuss something with us regarding the device." The General worriedly took in the exhausted features of his Second lying in the hospital bed. "Are you up to it, son?"

O'Neill weakly waved him off. "As good as I ever will be with this thing stuck in my brain, Sir."

"I just gave Colonel O'Neill another dose of pain medication, Sir," Fraiser added while pressing the button to lift the head-end of the Colonel's bed so he would be more comfortable. "It will kick in soon. We'll need to talk quickly, before he falls asleep."

"Good. Call in the guests then," Hammond nodded at Fraiser.

The room quickly filled up with SG-1, High Chancellor Travelle, the wanted Tollan scientist and two Tollan guards.

Jack rolled his eyes. "What am I, some new attraction at Universal Studios?"

Travelle just smiled. "Colonel O'Neill. How are you feeling?"

"Why don't I answer that _after_ I've heard what you got to say?" O'Neill responded with a smirk.

"This, Colonel O'Neill," Travelle pointed at the Tollan man guarded by two others. "This is Dr. Travis, the scientist who has developed devices such as the one currently present in your head. He has the knowledge and expertise to remove it. With your permission, we can start the procedure right now."

"What procedure?" Doctor Fraiser demanded immediately.

The Tollan scientist spoke up for the first time. "We will have to remove the device in surgery. I have some equipment with me to dismantle it, as soon as I can reach it. After that, it's safe to remove it from Colonel O'Neill's head without causing any more damage."

"Wait a minute," Carter interrupted. "But what about that spike that's already grown into the Colonel's brain?"

"It will pull back with the dismantling process," Dr. Travis explained.

"How do we know it's not going to send more spikes through Jack's head?" Daniel wanted to know.

"It won't, as long as we follow the right procedure," the scientist said confidently.

"When I tried to remove the device, Colonel O'Neill seized and then arrested. How do we prevent that from happening?" Janet asked, still frowning.

"That was the response of the device, as it wasn't disabled first, before the attempt to remove it. It is designed to do that."

"Anybody told you the design sucks?" O'Neill commented.

"Is this man medically trained, to perform such a surgery?" Fraiser questioned.

"He is," Travelle nodded. "He has worked as a neurosurgeon on Tollana for at least twenty years."

Fraiser slowly glanced at her, not happy with the situation just yet.

"I don't think we really have a choice here," Daniel opted, glancing from one person to another. Carter was nodding in agreement.

"Now, hold it for a minute," Jack started, raising one hand. "Not that I don't think this is all very nice, but why should I trust him?"

"You have my word that he will do nothing to harm you, O'Neill," Travelle smiled.

"So... I should trust _you_," O'Neill said. "No offence, but that still doesn't make me feel any better..."

"We, the Tollan, are very grateful for the assistance of the people from Earth, and you in particular, dealing with certain situations in the past. Consider it as paying back an old debt, Colonel. We owe you," Travelle simply explained.

"Well, yeah, that's all very flattering, but how can you be sure that _he_," O'Neill slowly motioned towards the scientist in question, "feels the same way as you do?"

Travelle slowly bowed her head before looking straight at the man in the bed. "As you, I, too, have my ... methods. I will personally be present during the procedure. I can assure you that you will be in the best hands."

"Colonel?" Hammond gently asked. "It has to be your decision, Jack."

O'Neill sighed heavily, raising his hands in exasperation. "Well, Sir. I already have the mother of all headaches... How much worse can it get? Let's get this over with..."

"I'll get a nurse to show you to the operating room," Fraiser said to the Tollan scientist. "Then I'll prep Colonel O'Neill for surgery. Everybody, please.... out."

A couple of minutes later everybody had left, after giving O'Neill the thumbs up for good luck. Dr. Travis and Travelle had been shown to the operating room for preparations while Fraiser stayed with O'Neill to make the final arrangements.

She was moving around the bed, when O'Neill suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Colonel?" she asked in surprise.

"You are going to be there, aren't you?" he demanded.

"Yes, Sir," she responded with a frown. "Although I have no expertise in this to contribute to the procedure."

"I don't care. I _trust_ you. I feel a lot better knowing that you will be there to look after me..." he admitted softly.

Fraiser smiled reassuringly at him, gently patting his arm. "Thanks. I'll do my best, Colonel."

* * *

_**Oh-uh.... The Tollan, saving Jack? He's not to fond of them to start with, so.... How's that going to end?**_


	11. Colonel, are you out of your mind?

The remaining three members of SG-1 were waiting anxiously for news regarding the surgery that was supposed to take care of the device inside their CO's head. A couple of hours, gallons of coffee and endless circles pacing later three pair of eyes expectantly looked up as Doctor Fraiser finally approached.

"Janet?" Sam inquired before the female doctor had even stepped inside the room.

Janet Fraiser raised one hand to silence them all as a smile formed on her lips. "It's done. Travis has successfully removed it and as far as I can tell, no more damage has been done to Colonel O'Neill's brain. Travis even managed to repair some tissue damaged by the spike from the device. I've already run a few tests and all is looking positive. What we need right now is for the Colonel to wake up, so I can perform a couple of additional tests, but it's all looking good so far."

"That is good news," Teal'c stated with a smile.

"So what will happen now?" Daniel asked. "Can we go and see him?"

"Yes, you can," Fraiser nodded. "He won't be awake for a while, though. When all the tests are clear, Colonel O'Neill just needs some rest to recover from the surgery and his previous injuries, but then he'll be as good as new..."

Carter sighed in relief. "What about the device? Can I have a look at it?"

"Yes," Janet nodded. "High Chancellor Travelle has ordered Dr. Travis to assist you. He's going to tell you all about it, I think."

Sam's eyes lit up with excitement. "Good. Maybe we can learn something from this. Daniel, I'll be in my lab. Let me know when the Colonel wakes up, okay?"

"Of course," Daniel acknowledged. "Teal'c, shall we?"

* * *

The briefing room was filled with General Hammond and three members of SG-1. Purpose of the briefing was to discuss everything that had happened so far and to see whether there was enough evidence to undertake steps in the direction of the NID.

General Hammond was just about to start the briefing when the door opened and Colonel O'Neill stepped inside. "Colonel," Hammond spoke up. "What are you doing outside the infirmary?"

O'Neill, with a white bandage wrapped around his head covering the surgical incision, still looked pale and exhausted. The expression he wore, however, was one of determination, and without hesitating he walked towards the table, grabbed an empty chair and sat down. "Attending to the briefing, Sir. We need to act fast if we want to catch the ones responsible."

"Did Doctor Fraiser approve your initiative?" Hammond asked against knowing better.

The Colonel shrugged nonchalantly. "She understood the urgency of the situation, Sir."

"Very well," the General sighed before turning to Carter. "Major, what have we got so far?"

"All we have at the moment is the involvement of the NID through Captain Potter, Sir. Captain Potter is the NID's most valued technician, a highly educated scientist who's responsible for all research on alien technology that our teams bring back home," Carter started. "Captain Potter had been working on an alien device for mind reading and his objective was to reverse the mechanism so the device could be used to write in a mind instead of reading from it. Apparently Potter couldn't make it work and needed help from an expert."

"The Tollan scientist, Dr. Travis," Daniel filled in. "Dr. Travis is, as we know now, an expert in brain surgery and is highly interested in mind control devices. He asked for permission to work on mind reading and writing devices, but his request was denied. He left the Tollan home world, in an attempt to get what he wanted in some other way."

"That is why the NID was in need of a spy within the SGC," Teal'c simply concluded. "This person was to search out and contact Dr. Travis to exchange the information."

"Yes," Sam nodded. "Captain Leon Williams had worked with Captain Potter in an unknown assignment before he was transferred to the Pentagon. It was all a matter of paperwork, signed by Colonel Kennedy from the Pentagon, to get him reassigned to the SGC, where he became a member of SG-9. Captain Williams easily contacted Dr. Travis off world and managed to get Captain Potter all he needed to know to continue his work."

"Do we know what Dr. Travis has been offered in return for his knowledge?" Daniel asked.

"We do not," Teal'c said.

"Maybe High Chancellor Travelle has found out," Carter suggested. "But she hasn't spoken of it."

"I haven't heard of it from her, either," General Hammond acknowledged. "So basically Captain Williams provides Captain Potter with the right schematics and instructions for him to successfully invert this alien device?"

"Yes, Sir," Carter confirmed. "Potter managed to build a prototype and tested it on a dog. The test results obviously proved to be positive and the next step was to use the device on a human body."

"Which happened to be me," O'Neill muttered.

"I'm afraid so, Sir," Sam said apologetically.

"No sweat, Major," O'Neill waved her off. "Not your fault. So where does this Colonel Simmons come in?"

"According to Captain Williams, Colonel Simmons is the one behind this, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

"But we can't be sure?" O'Neill sharply demanded.

"No, we can't. He has not as much as signed any transfer papers of the people involved in this," Carter added.

"Why do you ask?" Daniel looked at his friend.

"Well. Let's say that this Colonel Simmons has certain well hidden connections towards a for us very well known senator," O'Neill explained.

"What?" shot Carter, shocked.

"How do you know that?" Daniel interrupted, his brows furrowed.

O'Neill shrugged his shoulders. "Hey... I've got my sources. Colonel Simmons and Colonel Kennedy happen to be old acquaintances as well and I doubt it that is a coincidence."

"But we still have nothing to go on," concluded Hammond. "We're still assuming without proof."

"That's why we need a plan," the Colonel smiled. "And that's why we need to act fast."

"What are you intentions, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"Uh-oh..." Daniel remarked with a smirk. "I have a feeling we're not going to like this, are we?"

"Carter," O'Neill started to lay out his plan. "Do you know anything about that second trigger?"

"Yes, Sir," she said. "Dr. Travis has told me the device is also designed to respond to a certain word."

"A word?" Hammond frowned.

"Yes. As soon as somebody within a certain distance will mention this word, as a stand alone word, or even in the midst of a sentence, it would trigger the device." Carter explained.

"And the word is?" demanded O'Neill.

"We don't know yet, Sir." Carter looked apologetically at her CO. "According to Dr. Travis, Captain Potter has programmed it, so basically it could be anything." She turned to the General. "Since Captain Potter isn't stationed here, I think it must be something you say in certain circumstances, mainly to Colonel O'Neill, Sir. I mean, that would make sense. You would be within his reach, triggering the device yourself without really knowing it."

"Hmmm, that's a possibility," nodded Hammond. "Could it be Colonel?"

"No, we all use that word too often and it hasn't set off the device before..."

"So..." O'Neill motioned impatiently. "Can't this Tollan scientist rig the program and find out?"

"I suppose..." Carter agreed. "But why is that important?"

"Because I want to pay the NID in general, and a certain Captain in particular, a little surprise visit. Williams is in custody, right?" O'Neill looked around to see Teal'c nodding. "So... Potter has no way of knowing this Travis guy has removed the device..." he made a slight gesture with his hand towards the white bandages wrapped around his head.

"And?" Daniel interrupted, impatient as always.

"And I'm not going to tell him. Instead," he pointed at Major Carter, "I'm going to tell him that Carter here, brilliant as she is, has figured the damn thing out and has managed to reprogram it. The target isn't the good ol' General anymore, but Captain Potter..."

"Wow." Daniel looked stunned.

"That could work," Carter smiled.

"Colonel, are you out of your mind?" asked Hammond.

"Well, Sir," O'Neill said triumphantly. "In this case... I'd say it's all **_in_** the mind. Anyway.... assuming that I manage to convince this Potter that he really _is_ in trouble, maybe then he will reveal who're the ones behind this. That's why I need that word, Carter."

"I will accompany you, O'Neill," Teal'c stated simply.

"Now... I don't think so," O'Neill started to object.

"Colonel," Hammond interrupted him firmly. "I've got to admit that the plan could work. But if you want to pull this off you're going to take Teal'c along and you're both going to wear wires so we can record the conversation for evidence."

O'Neill nodded. "Yes, Sir. Carter, put Travis to work and get that word for me ASAP," he ordered.

"Err, Jack," Daniel objected, pointing at his friend's head. "What about that bandage?"

"It has to come off," Jack said. "Let Doc handle that, Daniel."

"Not necessarily, Sir," Carter interrupted. "You can tell Captain Potter that the doctors have tried to remove the device, but that they weren't able to."

"Which would be a logical explanation," nodded O'Neill. "Good thinking."

"All right, people," Hammond decided. "Let's get some results. Colonel, I want you back in the infirmary, resting. Major, arrange the equipment for Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c. I want you and Doctor Jackson in the surveillance van following them. Colonel, you have a go at 1600."

* * *

_**So... now it's time for Jack to take things back into his own hands, don't you agree? Let the action begin!**_


	12. Visiting Captain Potter

That afternoon, they all gathered for a final check up. Fraiser had removed the bandage from Colonel O'Neill's head and replaced it with a smaller piece of gauze. She'd also injected him with a dose of painkillers before wishing him good luck with a concerned frown.

Carter was waiting with a wide smile. "Colonel," she greeted her CO. "I've got the bugs. They're built into these watches, one for you and one for Teal'c. They're made of plastic, so they're harder to discover."

"Sweet," O'Neill commented, picking up the watch and putting it around his wrist. "Anything on that word, Major?"

"Yes, Sir," she answered. "It's SG-1, Sir."

He glared at her in surprise. "Wow," he commented.

"Simple and effective. The General uses it a lot to address us. Makes perfectly sense, Sir."

"I guess it does," he agreed. "Hard to believe we haven't used it all that time, though. Murphy, are you ready?"

Teal'c bowed his head, his eyes showing that he didn't like his nickname. "Indeed, I am, O'Neill."

"Daniel and I are going to remain close all the time, Sir," Carter said. "Get out of there as soon as we have the evidence on tape."

O'Neill threw her a quick salute. "Yes, ma'am. All right. Teal'c, let's go. You drive."

Teal'c easily found an empty parking lot near the NID headquarters and pulled up the truck. He glanced at his friend on the passenger seat. O'Neill had been sleeping during the whole trip, but now opened his eyes to look around him.

"We're here."

"Indeed we are, O'Neill," Teal'c nodded. "Are you ready to proceed?"

O'Neill threw him a quick smile. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we're able to gather at my place for a pizza and a nice cold beer."

"That would not be wise, O'Neill," Teal'c stated.

Shrugging, O'Neill climbed out of the truck and closed the door. "A man's gotta dream..." he sighed before turning his attention to the ones who were listening to them through the wires. "Okay, kids. We're going in. Make sure not to miss anything."

The two men walked towards the building, and, after identifying themselves at the main entrance, they walked down the corridors heading for Captain Potter's lab.

The Captain apparently had been warned by the guard at the entrance, as he just got up to meet with his guests. "Colonel O'Neill, what a surprise," he said with a smile. "Teal'c... what brings you to the NID?"

O'Neill marched inside the lab, making a wavering gesture with his hand. "Oh, I think you know, Captain... Let's talk about alien devices able to hack human brains, shall we?"

Potter feigned surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sir," he said firmly.

"I believe you do," Teal'c joined in. He stepped next to his CO, straightened his shoulders and folded his hands behind his back. "You cannot deceive us."

Potter stared at the Jaffa. If he was surprised at all, he sure wasn't showing it.

"We know all about your little operation, Captain," Jack lowered his voice. "We know about the schematics the Tollan scientist provided you with. Impressive, very impressive."

"What are you talking about?" Potter kept up his act. "Sir?"

O'Neill turned his head and pointed behind his ear. "I'm talking about **_this_**. Or better, what's inside there. The device you planted there without my permission. The device that almost made me kill General Hammond. Almost..."

"I don't know..." started Potter.

"Cut the crap, Potter," O'Neill barked. "You damn well know what I'm talking about. We've got Captain Williams and he told us all about you..."

"Indeed he was most willing to cooperate," Teal'c added.

This time, the NID Captain shifted uncertainly on his feet, staring at the floor for a moment.

"Don't worry, Captain. It's not you we want. I want to know who the one behind this is and you are going to tell me that. Who gave you your orders?" O'Neill continued.

Potter looked up, the brief nervousness vanished as he'd gained control over his bearings. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sir."

"Drop the dumb act, Captain. You're smart enough to know when you're driven in the corner. Who ordered you to put this device inside my head?" O'Neill took one threatening step forward.

Teal'c did the same, approaching the Captain from the other side. "I suggest you listen to Colonel O'Neill."

The now visibly nervous Captain staggered two steps back. "I can't," he stammered.

"Oh, yes you can," Jack snapped. Before Potter realized it the Colonel had drawn his gun and aimed it straight at the man's chest. "And you will. Now, who gave you your orders?"

Potter's eyes were wide open with shock as he couldn't look at anything anymore but the end of the gun pointed in his direction. "Sir! You can't do that!"

"Why not?" O'Neill shrugged nonchalantly. "I _am_ doing this, am I not?" He slowly moved an inch closer, anger now covering his face. "Teal'c, cover the door." He watched as his alien friend stepped in the door opening to watch his back before turning his attention back to the NID scientist. "You think you're smart, huh? You think you're untouchable, with your little friends watching your back. Well, I've got a surprise for you, Captain. Major Carter is way smarter than you and she's figured the whole thing out. And you know what?" Jack shortly pointed at his ear with the top of the gun before aiming it at Potter once more. "She's rigged it. Reprogrammed it. Hammond is no longer my target. _**You**_ are."

Potter's mouth fell open as he gasped. "She couldn't have..." he started uncertainly.

"Of course she could," O'Neill barked, knowing he was getting closer. "Now who gave you your orders?"

Captain Potter stared from the deathly serious Colonel in front of him to the stoic Jaffa keeping guard at the door. Calming himself, he forced to smile. "You won't shoot me like that, Colonel. And the device needs to be activated..."

"By the Stargate," O'Neill interrupted him bluntly. "But Major Carter told me about the second trigger she has discovered..." He paused to see whether his words had effect. "Teal'c, what was the word again?"

The Jaffa threw a quick look in the hallway before turning his head towards the now shaking scientist. "I believe it is SG..."

"Stop!" yelled Potter. "Don't. Please..."

"Start talking to me..." threatened O'Neill.

Potter shook his head desperately. "I can't..." he mumbled, pressing one hand over his face. "They'll kill me..."

"Teal'c?" O'Neill demanded unmercifully. "The word?"

"No..." Potter begged. "I'll tell you all you want to know. Please..."

_PLOP._

A soft popping sound ended the conversation. A bullet broke its way through the lab's window. It hit the Captain in the middle of his chest.

Jack dove for cover.

_Ssssssssshhh._

Potter's eyes widened as he slowly sank to the floor.

Teal'c disappeared.

The door slammed shut.

_Sssssssssshhhh._

O'Neill took in the small hole near Potter's heart. The Captain's eyes were open, but Jack knew the man was dead.

_Sssssssssshhhh._

Gas.

O'Neill frantically crawled towards the door. He was holding his breath, but the gas was already slowing down his movements. His limbs felt heavy and failed to cooperate properly. He forced his body to obey, agonizingly slowly reaching for the door.

_Sssssssssssshhhh._

His vision was blurring. He tried to focus on the doorknob but it kept switching position. Swaying dangerously, Jack managed to get to his knees. He reached an unsteady hand forward. Determinedly, he grabbed the knob.

The door was locked.

_Ssssssssssssshhhh._

Damn. Jack cursed as he slowly collapsed, his shoulder hitting the wall before his body slid down to the floor. Blackness was consuming him, engulfing him and he was unable to fight it any longer.

"Teal'c," he tried to call out but it wasn't more than a faint whisper. His consciousness slipped away, his last thought being that this really wasn't his day.

* * *

**_Argghh! Another cliffie! He-he....._**


	13. Where are Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill?

_**Author's notes: sorry if I'm late posting this! Our special thanks go to our loyal reviewers..... Bixata, Angsty-Otaku, PatricaS... you are the best!!! Of course, anybody else who has reviewd: thank you, too! You make us smile.... Now on with the story, you are all dying to find out where Teal'c went, aren't ya?  
**_

* * *

"What's happening?" Daniel asked.

"Shh, I think the Colonel's got him now," Sam rushed to say with one finger pressed against her lips.

They both heard the hesitation in Captain Potter's voice as O'Neill threatened him. The technician in the van was recording the whole conversation.

"Teal'c? The word?" Sam smiled at the way her CO had built up the conversation. She was glad she wasn't in Potter's shoes right now.

"...tell you all you want to know. Please..." The scientist was falling for O'Neill's ploy. Carter heard it in his voice. She waited for the confession to come, but heard a soft sound instead, followed by a soft thump.

She threw a worried glance at Daniel. "Shit, what's happening?" she whispered.

No voices were coming anymore, but they could all hear a door being shut.

"What's that hissing sound?" Daniel said, listening carefully.

"I don't know..." Carter answered. She didn't know why, but she didn't like it a bit. "Something's wrong. Let's go." She grabbed her stuff, getting ready to leave the van. The barely audible "Teal'c" was the last word she heard as she threw the doors open, jumping out with Daniel on her heels.

Rushing towards the entrance took only a few minutes but it seemed ages. Sam was ready to kill the guard at the door, as the time he took to check the ID's before letting them in was too long for her liking.

Then they were inside.

Carter had visited the NID headquarters several times and knew the way to the lab. Without looking back she started running, knowing Daniel would follow her. Only a couple of minutes later they arrived at their destination.

The lab was empty.

No sign of Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c. No Captain Potter either.

"Damnit," Sam cursed. "Where are they?"

Daniel already was checking out the lab for signs of trouble, but couldn't find anything amiss. There were no signs of a struggle, nothing. One window was open, letting fresh air into the lab and Daniel moved over to look for tracks outside. Turning around, he lifted his shoulders in despair. "I don't like this..." he muttered.

Carter stared at him, then looked back at the door as she heard footsteps approaching.

A tall man with short, dark hair and a high forehead stepped inside, frowning in surprise. "Can I help you?"

Sam stepped forward. "I'm Major Samantha Carter. This is Dr. Jackson. We're from the SGC and are here to meet with our colleagues, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c." She'd managed to throw a glance at the man's ID. It was Colonel Simmons. "Do you know where they are, Sir?"

"Ah, the famous SG-1... Welcome to the NID, Major Carter. Dr. Jackson," Simmons reached out to shake hands with the two members of SG-1, smiling widely. "I'm Colonel Simmons. Now, I've not seen Colonel O'Neill today, but I think I've heard he already left the building. Are you sure you were supposed to meet here?"

"Yes," Daniel nodded.

"That was the plan, Sir," Carter quickly added. "But maybe something's come up. Daniel, let's get back to the SGC. I'm sure Colonel O'Neill will be there."

Getting ready to leave, Carter saluted at the superior officer. "Nice to meet you, Sir."

"Give my regards to Colonel O'Neill, when you find him," Simmons said, still smiling. "I'm sure we'll meet again."

* * *

"Sir, we've got them. What do we do now?"

"I only need O'Neill. Get rid of the Jaffa," was the short answer.

"Sir?"

"Think, Lieutenant. Think," came the sharp reply. "How many people do you think know what he is?"

"Just the SGC and ..."

"Exactly," the voice responded. "If we want to make them believe we're not the ones behind this we can't keep him. Others would soon discover the tattoo and God knows what else and wouldn't be able to handle that. If we keep him, they'll know it's us. Is he out cold?"

"Yes, they are both unconscious and won't wake up for a while. What about the others that came to the building?" the first man questioned.

"They have nothing to go on. They already left."

"So what do you want us to do with the Jaffa then?"

"When it's dark, dump him near O'Neill's truck. He has nowhere to go but back to the SGC."

"Yes, Sir."

"And make sure he doesn't wake up before you're all gone. Then meet me at the cabin. I've got to talk to O'Neill and I might need you to convince him of some things."

* * *

Colonel O'Neill slowly awoke, discovering a couple of most unpleasant facts.

First, he was lying face down on a cold, hard floor. Second, his hands were bound together, behind his back, and the ropes were cutting into his flesh. Third, his feet had received a similar treatment. But what pissed him off the most was that his head was pounding unmercifully and that his stomach was churning so badly he was afraid he would start throwing up any minute.

A soft moan escaped his lips as he tried to shift a bit to turn his head and scan his surroundings. The room he was in was completely empty. The floor was just brick tiles and the walls were made of wood. There was one tiny little square window, letting in light, but it gave O'Neill no clue about where he was. He could spot nothing but the sky and the top of a tree. There was only one door, which no doubt would be locked.

What the hell happened?

He remembered interrogating Captain Potter at the NID.

Damn.

Somebody shot the Captain before he could talk and then filled the room with some sort of knock-out gas.

He remembered now. He'd tried to reach the door but hadn't made it. What had happened to Teal'c? Shit, his friend had been watching the door but he wasn't here with him. So where the hell was the Jaffa?

Wondering about that wasn't getting him anywhere, so stubbornly, Jack started working on the knots around his wrists with his long fingers. They were tight and, ripping a nail, he realized it wouldn't be easy to get them loose.

Shit, if only that hammer would stop beating on the inside of his skull. It was getting worse now he was forcing his body to work on the knots, but giving up was not on his list.

* * *

It was pitch dark. Only a few streetlights illuminated the parking lot, and it took Teal'c a while to recognize where he was. He had aroused from his deep unconscious state, unable to remember what had happened to him.

He was lying on his back in the cold grass and soon he could make out O'Neill's truck. He had a severe headache and his pouch hurt. He recognized the feeling of a bruised area, and knew that somebody must have punched him several times.

O'Neill. What had become of O'Neill?

He had been watching the corridors of the NID while O'Neill talked to the NID scientist. Teal'c was certain he had heard the sound of a passing bullet. He had moved to check upon his friend when he had felt the sting of a dart hitting him in his neck. He had tried to remove the dart but the poison it was laced with had a fast paralyzing effect.

Groaning, Teal'c slowly raised his upper body to a sitting position. He touched his neck and felt the sore spot where the dart had struck him. The feeling of failure spread through his body and the Jaffa moved to lean his back against the truck, with a dark expression covering his face.

He remembered how O'Neill had hit the deck and he could not be sure if his CO had been injured. He could still recall the desperation he had felt as his body had failed to respond. He had been unable to assist O'Neill. The poison that was spreading through his veins had paralyzed him and he had slid to the floor. He could remember somebody approaching him, but he had not been able to recognize a face. His vision was blurring at that time. Although the effects of the drug made it impossible for him to move, he had not completely lost consciousness. It must have been his symbiote protecting him against it.

Voices.

He remembered voices. Teal'c shook his head in an attempt to clear the fog that was still clouding his brain. There had been people talking and there was one word printed in his memory.

Bradfort.

He was certain he had heard the people talking about it, although he could not remember the rest of the conversation. Somehow he had known it was important information.

The memory of the rest that had happened was even vaguer. They had injected him with another dose of the drug. He remembered people laughing. He remembered being hit or kicked, but had been unable to respond properly.

His face grim from what he recalled, Teal'c suddenly felt at his wrist, only to discover that the watch with the bug was gone.

Voices. Bradfort.

The Jaffa struggled to his feet. He was still dizzy and shaky, but he needed to find the whereabouts of his friend. Although his subconscious already told him O'Neill was not present, Teal'c searched the parking lot just in case. He wanted to be certain not to miss anything.

It took him about thirty minutes. By that time, the cool fresh air had cleared his head and he knew O'Neill was nowhere to be found.

He now needed to decide on his next piece of action. Somehow he needed to discover what Bradfort meant.

* * *

_**Author's notes: I'm going away for a few days.... I hope to find some internet connection and a possibility to post the next chapter over there, otherwise: I will be back on Friday! Don't forget to leave a review for us while you're waiting! **_


	14. Bradfort where or what is it?

_**I'm back! thanks for reviewing the latest chapters.... and quickly on with the story, we can wrap this up this weekend....**_

* * *

"What the hell happened?" General Hammond barked at the two returning members of his first contact team. The news of the disappearance of O'Neill and Teal'c had already reached him by the airman driving the surveillance van.

Carter pulled an apologetic face. "Colonel O'Neill was succeeding in making Captain Potter talk, Sir. Something happened, however. We heard some soft noises, a thump as if a body hitting the floor and a strange hissing sound. We immediately ran towards the building, but by the time we reached the lab, everybody was gone. No sign of Colonel O'Neill or Teal'c, Sir."

"We met Colonel Simmons, though," Daniel filled in. "He told us that Jack had already left the building, but we know that's not true. We would have seen him on our way in."

"What about the wires?" Hammonds demanded.

"According to the technician in the van, the connection broke off while we were entering the building, Sir," Sam explained. "Whoever's got them must have removed the watches. We have surveyed the area, looking out for anyone suspicious leaving the building, but we couldn't cover all sides, Sir. We came up empty."

Hammond stared at her, his face grim and upset. "I can't believe this. Contact the NID and have them check the records. I want to know when Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c checked in and where the hell they are."

"Yes, Sir," Sam said.

* * *

Daniel followed her to the lab, frowning. "I don't get this, Sam. Where are they?"

"I don't know, Daniel. I do know that Colonel Simmons wasn't exactly honest with us. Don't ask me why, it's just a hunch. I didn't like the guy."

"Me neither," Daniel agreed. "He was hiding something. Why did you leave so soon, though?"

"I didn't want him to know that we suspected him," she explained. "We had nothing to go on, you know."

"That's true. Where the hell did they take Jack and Teal'c, and why?" Daniel worried.

Sam grabbed the phone. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it won't be good. Let's see what I can find out...." She punched in some numbers and started talking as soon as somebody picked up the phone, clarifying who she was. "Can you please tell me what time Colonel O'Neill checked in?"

Listening carefully, she jotted something down on a piece of paper. "Can you see where the Colonel is, right now? I really need to talk to him," she tried, throwing one quick glance at Daniel. "What was that, Lieutenant? He already left? When? ... No... I didn't know. Are you sure about that? Was he alone... no? Oh. Okay. Were you at the desk when he left? Who was it then, can you check that for me, please? Thank you, Lieutenant. Have a nice evening, too."

"And?" Daniel asked impatiently.

"According to the records, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c checked into the NID at 1700, and both left at 1721. Now we know that he was in the building around 1715, because we were recording his conversation with Captain Potter. We entered the building at 1718 and headed for Potter's lab. This means the Colonel and Teal'c must have checked out right after us, but then Lt. Johnson should have seen them from the van."

"So they faked the check-out?" Daniel asked.

"They must have, but that's not easy to prove. The Lieutenant I just spoke to of course wasn't on duty around that time and the one who was already left. I've got his name, though. Maybe General Hammond can order the security tapes from the NID entrance so we can see, but somehow I think something will be wrong with them," Carter said. "Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c didn't leave that building through the main entrance around that time. We *know* that for sure."

"What do we do now?" Daniel frowned worriedly. "We've got nothing to go on."

Carter gave him a faint smile. "Don't give up that easily, Daniel. I'm going to dig in the computer and see if I can make some connections... let's do a little background search on this Colonel Simmons, too."

* * *

The door opened and O'Neill, only alerted by the approaching footsteps, craned his neck to get a good view. Three men entered the room, all wearing ski masks covering their faces.

"Evening, fellows," Jack greeted them cheerfully. "Aren't you guys a little too old to play hide and seek?"

"Shut up, Colonel," a sharp voice barked, belonging to the man who was comfortably leaning against the wall. He was the only one with a black mask, the others had similar ones, but brown.

"Grumpy, huh?" O'Neill muttered, then groaned as somebody grabbed him by his arms and dragged him up until he was on his knees. "Hey, careful," he complained as his kneecaps protested against the movement.

"So... care to tell me what you thought you were doing with Captain Potter?" the man asked.

"Who?" O'Neill frowned, showing a hint of faked surprise. "Harry Potter? Haven't you seen that movie?"

One of the masked men stepped closer, swung his foot and planted it in the Colonel's midsection.

O'Neill fell sideward from the force of the kick, kept his lips glued together and managed to keep a straight face when the other man dragged him back up. Sharp stabs of pain shot through his ribcage, although he didn't think the kick had caused more trouble than a couple of bruises. Lifting his head, he glared at the man wearing the black mask.

"Let me warn you, Colonel O'Neill. The SGC has had its time and the Stargate will soon be run by some other people. And believe me, you're **not **going to be a part of the new program."

"Now, I don't think so..." Jack sneered angrily. He tried to press as many details of the masked men in his memory as possible. Body proportions, movements, habits, anything that could help him identify them in the future.

"This is way over your head, Colonel. I'm warning you to stay out of this and then, you might still get the chance to retire," the man snapped back.

"So far I'm neither impressed, nor shocked by what I've heard. Why don't you show me who you are so we can seriously discuss this," O'Neill suggested, throwing a deadly glare at the man.

A slight nod from the man leaning against the wall and the two others moved, punching O'Neill between the ribs and shoulder blades at the same time.

Jack suppressed a groan, biting on his lip. One of the blows was directed at the same spot he'd been kicked before and this punch might have done a bit more damage. The muscles in his back protested as they cramped together and O'Neill forced them to relax, rolling his shoulders slowly to relieve the pressure.

"Don't mess with me," the man barked as soon as his victim had regained his composure. "Now how did Major Carter manage to get the device reprogrammed?"

Jack was still struggling to draw breaths slowly, still fighting to recover. He'd been dragged back to his knees, since he wasn't able to do so himself with his hands bound on his back. "Carter is way smarter than you think..." he smirked and was rewarded with a quick, hard slap to the side of his face, landing mostly on his ear.

"How did she do it?" the man kept demanding.

"Hey... I don't know... I'm not that smart..." O'Neill shrugged. Immediately he was slapped in the face a couple of times, the force of the blows rocking his whole upper body sideways. He kept his eyes closed and struggled to remain on his knees. Jack cursed inwardly as he felt the old injury on his left eyebrow crack and warm liquid that could only be his own blood softly started rolling down his cheek.

"Oh, I think you are way smarter than you let others believe. Hammond's days are over, and then, so are yours, my friend. Nobody else in charge would put up with your insubordinate crap," the man with the rough voice snapped.

"Hammond isn't leaving just yet," O'Neill spat back, looking up once more. Instinctively he wanted to move his hand to wipe away the blood running down his face but realized that he was unable to.

"Oh, but he will. Eventually. Unless he doesn't care about his cute little granddaughters... Especially the youngest one…" the man threatened.

O'Neill fought to remain calm. Letting the man know how angry that remark made him wouldn't bring him anything but further grief. His face remained one stoic mask. Teal'c would have been proud, he thought idly, as he didn't lower his gaze.

"What, lost your tongue, O'Neill? Don't you believe me? She's got that lovely long blond, curling hair with those cute little bows in her ponytail. Just to make sure the old man decides to retire if he doesn't die first..."

"It won't work," O'Neill objected self-assuredly. He'd played the games, knew he couldn't give in to any threats, couldn't give them anything. Although he had no idea how, he vowed to do something to nail these guys before they really could harm the little kid.

"Yes, it will. Not even his contacts will be able to help him this time.... This goes up higher than that, Colonel..." the man dropped on his knees in front of O'Neill and brought his masked face close by, slowly exhaling, blowing the air in the Colonel's face. "And to prove that we're untouchable, I'm going to make sure that _you _will take that message back to the SGC. Either the two of you leave voluntarily, or we'll force you to... Is that understood?" The man gave his two companions another nod and moved back to make enough room.

This time there were more than two blows. The two men made quite an effort to inflict some serious harm on the bound man on the ground, using their fists and feet and aiming at his head, chest, back and legs. They continued until their victim lay still, his knees protectively drawn up to avoid more blows to the abdomen, blood oozing from several cuts on his head.

The leader of the three bent forward and pulled O'Neill's hair, twisting it until he could see the Colonel's face. "Damn it.... He wasn't supposed to lose consciousness this soon... Stupid bastards, you hit him too hard on his head." He roughly rolled the still figure onto his back. "Get some water and wake him up. I wasn't finished."

* * *

Teal'c drove around in O'Neill's truck. He found a map in the glove compartment, but was unable to find anything that resembled Bradfort.

He was determined to find his friend, however, and decided to drive further until he came upon a place where he could go and request assistance.

He drove up north and remained on the main road. It took him two hours before he saw what he needed. A gas station.

Pulling the truck to a halt, Teal'c grabbed the hat to cover his tattoo and put it on before stepping out of the vehicle.

The man from the gas station already walked forward. "Evening, sir. You want me to fill it up?"

Teal'c frowned. "I am in need of some information," he answered.

"Oh," the man responded. "Can I help you?"

"I need to locate a place called Bradfort. Have you heard of it?"

"Bradfort?" the man said, his face showing surprise. "Never heard of it. Bradfort... Bradfort.... I don't think it's around here. What is it, a town?"

"I do not know," Teal'c said. "But a friend of mine is in grave danger so it is of great importance that I find this place."

The man curiously glanced at the man in front of him, taking in the deadly serious expression. "Let me think... Bradfort. Come inside, I can check the telephone books..."

The man from the gas station led the way to the shop and held the door open for the dark stranger. Gathering the books in question, he started searching.

* * *

The cold water thrown in his face brought Jack back to his senses. A soft moan escaped his lips as his whole body protested the treatment it had been given. His ribcage ached unmercifully, and drawing a single breath only aggravated the pain. God, Janet was going to be pissed, he figured, knowing that he had cracked at least one or two ribs. Trying not to inhale too deeply, O'Neill tried to come back to his senses. His head was pounding so bad that the world spun around, even with his eyes closed.

Not good, he thought. Not good at all.

Strong hands grabbed him under the armpits and hauled him to a sitting position. "Wake up, Colonel. I need you to listen carefully."

The voice hammered through his skull, tickling his memory. Somebody from the NID had grabbed him and was asking him questions. He wasn't planning on giving them any answers but then again, they didn't care, either. They just tried to hurt him and managed perfectly.

He hurt.

He hurt all over. Damn. Jack forced his eyes to open. Only one obeyed, the other remained stuck. Something sticky glued his lashes together. "I'm not interested in whatever it is you've got to say," he cracked.

Another rain of blows landed on his chest, throwing him around for the umpteenth time. The world spun, making his stomach churn and he swallowed hard to keep the content down. No need to piss those guys off by throwing up all over their shoes, although the thought of it was at least tempting. Nobody lifted him back up this time and O'Neill didn't have the strength to so he refrained from trying.

The man with the black mask started laughing. "I think you ought to, Colonel. I want you and General Hammond out of the picture, got that? I'm giving you a chance here to voluntarily opt for a nice and peaceful retirement, but if you remain to cause trouble, I **will** find another way to get rid of you."

"Is that supposed to scare me off?" O'Neill hissed through clenched teeth. His chest was burning and he instinctively had drawn his knees up to protect the damaged area.

The masked man bent closer. "Now, I don't think you're scared off that easily.... But you will come to your senses, or I will have to cut a ponytail off that little girl's head."

This time the man who had been doing all the talking, raised his own hand himself, balling it to a tight fist and threw a punch that landed on O'Neill's unprotected chin. He watched in satisfaction as the man's head snapped backwards and his eyes rolled up in his head. "Bye, bye, Colonel. It was nice meeting you."

* * *

_**well... Jack's in trouble again.... how does he do that? Are you guys still reading this?**_


	15. Lost and found

**_Author's notes: sadly enough this is almost coming to an end. We can go on forever putting Jack in trouble, but then again, every storyline needs an ending at some point and this one is nearly reaching it! Are you sad? Grin._**

**_For now: let's continue. Teal'c is desperately looking for a place called Bradfort and Sam and Daniel are desperately seeking their missing teammembers. And Jack? Hmm... Jack is otherwise occupied. Will he be looking for something as well?  
_**

* * *

"Damn it!"

"What?" shot Daniel, surprised by the sharp words coming from his female teammate.

"I can't find anything!" Sam helplessly raised her hands up before dropping them on the table. "How is that possible?"

"What did you expect?" Daniel asked, frowning. "I mean, wouldn't it be a little strange if you could just log right in and find what we need?"

"I know, Daniel," Carter sighed. "But I'm using a couple of different approaches, combining files that are not logical to use and still, I come up empty."

"How empty?" Jackson wanted to know.

"Well... Colonel Simmons' record is all clean. I can't find anything wrong with it. All honorable, heroic stuff which earned him the rank of Colonel in the first place... They all checked out. I can't find any connection of what-so-ever to Colonel Kennedy or Senator Kinsey..."

"Didn't Jack say he had?"

"Yes. I don't know where he got that from, though. Guess the Colonel knows other ways, plus he might have a higher level of security clearance, allowing him to see files that I can't." Carter stared at Daniel, frustration evident on her face.

"And?" Daniel wondered.

"And, I also ran a background check on NID personnel and was unable to find anything amiss... Whoever covered this up, did a pretty good job. I have no way of knowing who is playing fair and who isn't."

"So he has some contacts in high places," concluded the linguist.

"You're damn right," agreed Sam. "I also found a list of NID safe houses, as they are called, but I doubt it they would have taken them to one of those..."

"That would be rather stupid," Daniel nodded in understanding.

"Yes. There are only two places in the immediate area, but I don't think we even have to check them out."

"What do we do now?" Daniel asked, raising his brows as he glanced at his friend.

"Now we hope for Teal'c or the Colonel to manage to do something," Carter sighed. She didn't like it, the being unable to actually contribute to a situation. "Maybe the General has some ideas."

* * *

"Bingo!" the man from the gas station triumphantly tapped with his pointing finger in one of the telephone books.

Teal'c stepped closer. "What is it that you have discovered?"

"There is a lake up east. Lake Bradfort. It's not big, that's why I've never heard of it. Could that be what you're looking for?" The man opened up a drawer and gathered a map of the area. He spread it out on the table after removing the book. He ran with his fingers over the map, first locating his own position and from there searching. "Here... See? You'd miss it if you wouldn't know it was there...."

The Jaffa bent closer. "This is indeed the possible location. How do I reach it?"

The man studied the map, then slowly gave directions. "It might be a three hours' drive or so," he finished. "You can take this map with you."

Teal'c slowly bowed his head. "Thank you for your help. I am in your debt."

The man just smiled. "Go, and find your friend. I hope he is okay."

"As do I," the Jaffa responded, then walked out of the store and headed for the truck.

* * *

"Are we leaving?" one of the men asked.

"Yes. We're done," said the one who was wearing the black mask.

"What about him?" The third man pointed with his thumb over his shoulder into the direction of the second room.

"We'll leave him here. He'll wake up sometime tomorrow and find his own way home," the leader stated.

"I don't know..." shrugged the first man, uncomfortably. "What if he's hurt too bad?"

"Getting sentimental?" the man with the black mask snorted. "Don't worry, he'll survive. He's the most stubborn SOB I've ever heard of. Did you remove the ropes from his wrists and ankles?"

"I did," confirmed the second man. "Do you think it worked?" he asked doubtfully.

"No. Not really," the leader said simply. Taking in the surprise on his partners' faces, he explained. "Somebody with the background of this man isn't scared off that easily. All we did was push him around a bit and threatened him. He'll watch his back, he might dig into it but won't get very far. But he won't step aside and give us what we want."

"So... this was all a waste of time?" the first man frowned, wondering why the hell they'd gone through all the trouble to do this.

"No. I'll get what I want. Eventually. I want him to consider this as a warning. He'll realize soon that I wasn't merely threatening. I **_will_** do whatever it takes. I just need a bit longer to plan ahead and arrange some things. Work on my contacts, gather the right people. Patience, my friends. Patience."

The trio left the cabin, heading for the car. They all got in and removed their masks, the driver turning on the engine and switching on the headlights. Without looking back, they left the area.

* * *

Teal'c had been driving for a couple of hours when he finally reached the first signs pointing out the direction to Lake Bradfort. It was pitch dark, but the observant Jaffa noticed the signs as the headlights of the truck shone on them when he passed by.

A couple of minutes later, the road came to a T-junction and the two beams of light coming from the truck reflected on the still water of the lake in front of him.

Teal'c stopped the truck and got out. He allowed his eyes to get used to the dark after turning off the lights and searched the area. He tried to find indications, clues, anything that could point out the location of his missing friend. It took him awhile, but then, to the left, he could make out the dark silhouette of a small building in the distance. A house, cabin, or barn, he could not be sure but it was worth checking out.

The Jaffa was cautious.

If O'Neill was there, he probably was not alone.

It was better to leave the truck behind and continue his trek by foot.

His decision made, the man from Chulak parked the vehicle and headed into the direction of the building to the left taking nothing but his canteen filled with water and a flashlight. He chose his path carefully, making sure he was staying out of sight of possible guards. He moved as quickly as possible, certain that he would be aware of the presence of human beings before they would spot him.

It took him another half hour to reach the building. He slowly approached it, confirming that it was some sort of wooden cabin. There were no lights on, indicating it was deserted. After inspecting all around the outside of the cabin, Teal'c felt confident that nobody was watching him. He took a closer look at the front and knelt beside fresh tire tracks. At least somebody had been here by car recently, he knew.

He stepped on the porch and carefully turned the door knob. It made a soft squeaking noise. Stopping in turning it further, the Jaffa stood still and listened carefully.

Nothing disturbed the silence.

This time he switched it and felt the door opening. Quickly stepping aside after pushing the door open, he listened again. Nothing moved, no sound was heard. Teal'c stepped inside and immediately pressed his back against the wall.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, the Jaffa searched what appeared to be the hallway, then the first room on his left, which seemed to be the kitchen. It was deserted. The next room followed, and came up empty as well.

As soon as Teal'c opened up the door to the third room, he knew it was not empty. He heard the labored breathing of a person before he peered inside. A bundle in the middle of the room indicated that somebody was lying there.

The Jaffa frowned. Nobody would voluntarily lie down in the middle of an empty room to catch a nap. Without dropping his alertness he scanned the room before stepping closer to the human being lying in a heap on the cold floor. Even before he knelt next to the unmoving figure, Teal'c had recognized his friend.

"O'Neill," he spoke softly. His fingers already found the appropriate spot in his friend's neck. A pulse, irregular, weak, but there.

The lack of response worried the Jaffa. An angry frown formed on his face as he rose. His friend needed help, but he had to make sure they were alone in the cabin and continue his investigation first.

He carefully completed his search, until he was sure nobody else was present. Only then, Teal'c allowed himself to switch on the flashlight he had brought from the truck and rushed back to the room where O'Neill was.

Teal'c dropped to his knees and shone the flashlight's beam over the body of his CO. O'Neill lay on his side, knees drawn up. Teal'c soon discovered the dried blood on his friend's face and at the back of the head. Putting the flashlight aside, the Jaffa started checking his friend for injuries by touching him with both hands, starting with the head. He found bumps and bruises under dried blood but luckily nothing still bleeding. Moving his hands along the neck towards the shoulders, Teal'c carefully probed and prodded, getting no response until he reached O'Neill's chest. There, his actions caused the unconscious man to moan softly. Whispering a soft apology, the Jaffa continued, checking the man's ribcage for spots giving away where they should not. He did not like what he discovered. The rest of his search luckily ended up with nothing dangerously damaged.

He pondered picking up his friend and carrying him back to the car, but was reluctant to do so as he feared internal damage. Moving the injured man around could harm him further instead of helping him. Leaving O'Neill behind to go and get help was not appealing either, although it seemed the only logical solution. Teal'c decided it was best to go, but he would make sure O'Neill was as comfortable as possible first. Another search through the cabin resulted in an old dusty blanket, which he carefully draped over his friend to keep him warm. He then tried to drop small amounts of water into his CO's mouth.

O'Neill responded by moaning while slightly moving his head.

Teal'c was immediately alerted by this sign of wakening and placed his hand on his CO's shoulder. "O'Neill. Do not move," he warned.

"Arrggh," complained the man on the floor. "Teal'c?"

"It is I, O'Neill. You are suffering from a possible concussion," the Jaffa stated softly.

"What gave it away?" O'Neill grunted. He slowly opened his eyes, one only opening a bit, but quickly closed them again as the world around him started spinning. One arm moved, and then the Colonel rolled onto his back before pressing a spread out hand over his chest.

"Your ribcage appears to be damaged as well, O'Neill. You should refrain from moving," Teal'c advised.

"They should have refrained from using me as a punching bag," Jack groaned in response.

A slight smile appeared on the Jaffa's face, although the statement only fuelled his anger. Whatever they had done to his friend, they had not been able to kill his spirit and for that, Teal'c was glad.

"Where are they?" O'Neill asked, as he attempted to lift his head and look around. The action only made his dizziness worse and he sunk backwards as he gasped for air. Stubbornly opening his eyes again, he searched the Jaffa's face. "You okay?"

"I am unharmed, O'Neill. We are all alone here.."

"Good. You look silly," Jack sighed.

Teal'c raised his brows in surprise.

"You've grown another head," O'Neill explained then motioned with this hand. "Two heads are better than one, so they say. Help me up..."

"I do not think that is wise, O'Neill," Teal'c protested, worried as he was about the condition of his friend. "I suggest you stay still while I go and get help."

"Where... How did you get here?" Colonel O'Neill frowned, suddenly questioning his whereabouts and the arrival of his alien friend. He pushed himself up to a sitting position but had to gasp for air as his chest tightened, sending waves of pain through his torso. "Aarggh," he hissed, closing his eyes again to stop the world from looping. It didn't work though and he wavered, disoriented and dizzy.

Teal'c watched how his friend struggled to draw slow breaths and how he fought to remain seated. It was obvious that the task was almost impossible and quickly the Jaffa moved his hand, grabbing his CO by the shoulder to steady him. Gently he supported the swaying man as he lay down, until he was lying on his back again. "As I said I do not think it is wise for you to move, O'Neill," the Jaffa repeated stoically. "I was able to locate you in a cabin at Lake Bradfort. I have parked your vehicle two miles back."

"My truck? You found me?" Jack looked up, confusion all over his face. "How did I get here?"

The Jaffa frowned worriedly. His friend obviously had trouble remembering and comprehending, another signal that he needed to get help as soon as possible. "It is of no importance now, O'Neill. I shall go and fetch help."

"There..." O'Neill struggled to concentrate, but it was getting harder as his head was pounding unmercifully. His stomach was churning and he fought to keep its content down. "My cell phone is in the truck..."

Teal'c's face lit up. He had not considered the option of using a cell phone. "I shall return shortly, O'Neill. Remain still and try to rest." Confident that he would be back soon, Teal'c got up and left.

* * *

"I don't like this at all," Daniel murmured. The linguist of SG-1 leaned back in his chair, with his feet on the edge of another one, folding his hands behind his neck. He searched until his eyes met the worried gaze of his female teammate. "So Hammond had no ideas either..."

"No." Frustrated, Sam hit the table with her fist. "It's after midnight, so he can't go about and call some people without raising suspicion. He's going to meet somebody first thing in the morning, though..."

"By then they could be dead, for all we know," Daniel said. "What else is there for us to do?"

"If only I knew..." Carter let out her anger by hitting the table with her fist. "Why can't I come up with something? It's my job to think of a solution, damn it!"

Jackson dropped his feet back on the ground as he shot up straight. "Stop that, Sam! It's not your fault!"

The blonde Major sighed and nodded slightly. "I know... but we need to find them, Daniel. They need us..."

"We *will* find them. It's just taking a bit longer than we hoped," Daniel spoke softly. "I don't..."

A soft ringing interrupted whatever he was about to say.

Sam's eyes widened then she quickly bent to fetch her cell phone. "Major Carter," she announced when picking it up. Her whole expression changed, as she cried out. "Teal'c!!! Where are you? How are you?"

Daniel glanced at her in surprise, not being able to hear the whole conversation. His face lit up as he realized who was on the other end of the connection. He tried to make out what was happening by the parts he could hear.

"Lake Bradfort? Never heard of it..." Carter quickly waved a hand into Daniel's direction. "Get me a map of the area, Daniel... What? ... You're fine, good. Where is Colonel O'Neill?"

Jackson sprinted to the bookshelf and grabbed what he needed. Spreading the map out on the table he stroked it flat with the palm of his hand.

Sam rushed forward. She used her pointing finger to orient herself and searched. "In a cabin... Is he all right?" Her finger moved from the location of the mountain into the wanted direction. "There!" She tipped on the map to indicate the position. "Got it! How is he?"

The linguist grabbed a pencil, found the lake Sam had pointed out and drew a big circle around it for easier finding.

"Ok. Go back to the Colonel and keep him still. We'll be with you in no time... Yes. We'll do that. Be careful." Carter broke off the connection and smiled at her teammate. "Got them. They're in a cabin at this lake. We need a chopper and a medical team... We could be there in twenty minutes."

"Medical team?" Daniel frowned worriedly. "How's Jack?"

"Banged up, possible concussion, broken ribs..." Sam said shortly, not wanting to lose any more time. "Go and get Janet while I arrange transportation." She grabbed the phone, not even waiting for Daniel to spurt out of the room.

* * *

Jack stirred, stifling a groan as the motion caused his head to pound unmercifully. He tried to remember what had happened but only parts of the puzzle came to mind.

"Teal'c?" he croaked.

The images were vague but somehow he seemed to remember his friend had been with him. Then he recalled a shooting but didn't immediately know the details except that he had been separated from the Jaffa. When he got no response, Jack pushed himself to a sitting position. The stabs of pain shooting through his chest were unbearable and the dizziness almost forced him to lay back down again.

"Teal'c?" he tried again, a little louder this time.

Damn it. Still no response.

He hated the not knowing. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember where he was and how he got here. The only thing he knew was that he'd been worrying about Teal'c after they were somehow captured and although he also had images of his friend being with him, it deeply concerned him that the Jaffa wasn't answering to his call.

Jack fought to keep the nausea down and softly probed his head with one hand, looking for the source of the hammers that were trying to break through his skull. His searching fingers soon found several sore spots with patches of dried blood and he involuntarily shivered as he touched an extremely painful damaged place behind his ear.

Not good, he figured, not liking the effort it took for him to concentrate on using his memory. Even moving parts of his body seemed hard, as if his muscles and nerves weren't receiving the commands his brain was giving them.

Next, O'Neill moved his attention to his chest. Slowly flexing it by shifting his shoulders a bit forward and backward followed by gently pulling his stomach muscles he knew where the damage was. Still leaning on one hand to steady himself he moved his other hand and inspected the ribcage with his fingers. Although he was very careful, the pain that shot through his torso still made him gasp.

Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, Jack concentrated on drawing small breaths. Inhaling too deep only exacerbated the pain in his chest. After a while he was breathing in a slow regular rhythm and he figured to be strong enough for the next piece of action.

He had to find Teal'c.

Jack cautiously moved his head, letting his eyes scan the room. His vision wasn't clear and the room was still making him believe he was in a ship's cabin bobbing on the high seas, but after a while he was positive that he was alone in the room. Wherever that room was.

Pushing aside the blanket that was covering his legs, O'Neill slowly rose to his feet. Staggering and swaying dangerously he stood, waiting for his body to get accustomed to the standing position. He wrapped one arm protectively around his midsection and then shuffled his feet, moving slowly, carefully, into the direction of the door.

Reaching the door was one thing, but before opening it, Jack had to lean against the wall and rest. A couple of minutes later he went to softly try the door-knob. The Colonel used his foot to push the door open, so he could remain safely behind the wall. He had no way of knowing whether to expect any danger, so he was prepared for anything, and ready to duck aside if needed.

Nothing happened.

A flashback of masked men kicking him in the abdomen sprung to mind. At least that explained how his ribcage got damaged. Jack bit on his lip. What had become of his team? For some reason he wasn't sure whether Daniel and Carter were involved. Maybe that was why he was only worried about Teal'c.

Teal'c had been here and could be in trouble so he needed to find him.

O'Neill slowly stepped out of the room into the hallway. He didn't recognize the place and luckily the moon was out, shining through some windows of the building so he could at least see something of his surroundings. Was he off world? He couldn't remember. His trained mind had taken in two other doors beside the one that had to be the entrance and instinctively he picked the one to the right to check out first. Staggering forward, Jack fought to reach his destination, but the pain in his head was intensifying and it became harder to keep his balance.

Repeating the procedure, Jack hid behind the wall and opened the door using his foot. When nothing happened, he sighed softly, allowing his body a brief rest with his shoulder leaning against the doorframe. Then, he stepped inside the room. "Teal'c?" he whispered.

Struggling to focus he couldn't make out the whole room from his position at the door, so he hobbled carefully, crossing the room until he was sure Teal'c wasn't there. Although he moved slowly and cautiously, his turning around was too much for his aching head. O'Neill dropped to his knees as the world started looping and only barely managed to not fall down flat on his face as he caught his balance, using one hand to lean on. His stomach rebelled and then a wave of heaves racked his body. Quickly, Jack placed his other hand in front of him as well and was just in time to lean forward to empty his stomach on the floor.

A couple of minutes later the heaves subsided. Unfortunately, the pain flaring across his chest hadn't. Moaning, the Colonel wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. At least he could be pretty sure his attackers were gone, or they surely would have heard him by now.

What was he doing here anyway?

Locking his eyes on the door as his subconscious somehow tried to tell him that reaching the hall was important, Jack forced himself to rise again. He was exhausted and the thought of just lying down and give up was tempting, but he couldn't do that. He had to move on.

Suddenly he remembered why. He had to find Teal'c.

This time, staying on his feet was next to impossible. O'Neill staggered, swayed and stumbled, took some steps into the direction of the door opening but didn't make it that far. The black spots that were dancing in front of his eyes were spreading and just as he thought he'd reached a wall to lean against, he felt it moving. It actually was the door itself and under the weight of the Colonel's body, the door slammed shut. O'Neill slid to the floor against it without even knowing that his lights had finally gone out.

* * *

**_Well, help is finally on the way.... Tomorrow the conclusion, I promise. Hope you have enjoyed the ride so far and if you haven't yet, please drop us a note, we'd love to hear what you think!_**


	16. It's over, or is it?

_**Author's notes: Final chapter, folks! I know I promised you this on Sunday already but the site had a technical glitch as you all must have notices, too. Time to get Jack back home safely and wrap this one up. We loved writing this, hopefully you loved reading it!**_

* * *

Teal'c estimated he had been gone less than an hour. The first time when he had approached the cabin, he had moved cautiously, since he had not known if the enemy was still present. Now, he had been running all the way to O'Neill's vehicle and back.

Still he was concerned for O'Neill's condition as he stepped back into the cabin. Using his flashlight, Teal'c immediately went to the room where he had left his injured friend.

The only thing he found there was the blanket and the canteen.

Frowning in surprise, Teal'c swung with his hand, the beam of the flashlight crossing the floor of the room. O'Neill was gone.

The Jaffa turned on his heels and quickly inspected the hallway. Finding no trace of his friend he tried the next room, only to find that empty as well.

He had more luck trying the next door. It was blocked, and by the feel of it, by something heavy and yet soft. Teal'c placed his ear against the door and listened carefully. He could not make out anything, however.

Not wanting to force his way in, he ran outside, around the cabin. Luckily, there was a small window. Teal'c shone the light into the room, peering inside. His suspicions were confirmed as the beam of his flashlight rested on the unmoving form of his friend, crumpled against the door. The Jaffa could only guess how on Chulak O'Neill had managed that.

Estimating the distance between the door and the window, Teal'c considered it safe enough to break the glass. With all the trees around the cabin he soon found a stick he could use and thumped it through the window. The glass shattered. With the branch, Teal'c pushed all remaining sharp pieces out of the way. Next, he took off his shirt, tore it in two and wrapped one part around his hand before carefully clearing the window frame. Only then he allowed himself to climb inside.

For the third time that night, Teal'c dropped to his knees beside his friend, and searched with his fingers for a pulse in O'Neill's neck. Relieved when he found one, Teal'c gently repositioned the unconscious body until his CO was lying flat on his back. Next, he carefully pushed his hands under O'Neill's shoulders and slowly dragged the still form away from the door, just enough for it to be able to open again.

Afraid of the suspected concussion, Teal'c gathered the canteen and wetted the remaining part of his shirt. With that, he started dabbing O'Neill's face in an attempt to arouse him. "O'Neill," the Jaffa urged. "Wake up."

A soft moan was the response.

The Jaffa patted his friend's cheek with two fingers. "O'Neill," he insisted. "You need to wake up now."

Slowly, O'Neill's eyes fluttered, and confusedly glanced around before falling shut again. "Teal'c," the Colonel mumbled.

"I am here, O'Neill," Teal'c responded.

"Need... to find... Teal'c..." Jack cracked almost not audible.

Teal'c frowned. "I am well, O'Neill. Do not concern yourself because of me." Using his shirt, he wiped his CO's face again, and then settled for dropping bits of water into the half-open mouth. He tried to get more response from his friend but gave up after a while when his efforts proved to be unsuccessful. After gently rolling his CO in the recovery position, Teal'c made himself comfortable.

It was only a matter of time now before help would arrive.

* * *

The helicopter circled over the lake and, using the search lights, the pilot soon had discovered the cabin. He also spotted the parked truck. The only thing remaining was finding a landing spot and that was harder. The area around the lake was filled with trees and there was no open area near the cabin which the pilot could use.

"I'll have to land near the truck, Ma'am," the pilot yelled at Carter.

Sam gave him thumbs up in understanding, knowing there was no other way. She looked at her watch. It was already over an hour ago that she had received Teal'c's telephone call. She could only hope the Colonel's injuries weren't too bad. Throwing a quick glance at Janet and Daniel, she noticed that they both were lost in their worries as well. "We're here," she announced.

The chopper slowly descended, then touched the ground. Jackson threw the door open even before the pilot could turn the engine off. He jumped out of the helicopter, shortly followed by Carter, Fraiser and her nurse. The pilot got out and lifted the stretcher out of the chopper.

Sam grabbed her cell phone and dialed. "Teal'c," she spoke as soon as her friend answered her call. "We've arrived. The chopper couldn't land closer to the cabin, we're near the spot where you left the truck.... What? That's clever, thanks. We'll be there shortly..."

Daniel looked impatiently at her. "What?" he asked.

"Teal'c left the keys of the truck under the front tire," she said.

They ran towards O'Neill's truck, Janet carrying her medical emergency kit while Daniel carried the stretcher. Sam already dropped on her knees and triumphantly jumped back up. "Got them!"

Getting in only took a little while and then with Carter driving they were heading for the cabin.

Barely ten minutes later Daniel suddenly cried out, pointing with his finger to a dark building coming up on their left side. "There!!"

Sam pulled up the truck and the four people got out of the vehicle, grabbing their stuff along the way. Teal'c stood in the door opening, and nodded a faint greeting before leading them to the room where their CO was still sprawled out on the floor.

Fraiser rushed to her patient's side, kneeling next to him while opening up her med kit. "Do you know exactly what happened to him?" she immediately asked Teal'c.

"I do not, Doctor Fraiser," the Jaffa responded. "But it appears his captors have mistreated him badly. I believe his head has sustained serious injury, as has his ribcage."

Daniel and Sam made themselves useful by taking out two portable spotlights and positioned them to give the doctor enough light to do her job. They watched from a distance as Janet started her routine vitals check, meanwhile listening to Teal'c's short update.

Janet finished her first check-up then rose to meet the waiting eyes. "Okay. As far as I can tell, Colonel O'Neill has received a very serious beating. He has cuts and bruises all over his body, and while they are going to be sore, they aren't the main problem. I probably need to put some stitches in his eyebrow again, he's not going to like that. Then at least two ribs are gone, I'll need some X-rays to see if there's internal damage, but I found no signs into that direction yet. What's concerning me the most is his head trauma. On top of the recent surgery he's received some nasty blows to it. I'll need to clean up the surgical incision, it's cracked open during the treatment they gave him. His pupils aren't responding properly and without running some tests back at the SGC I can't tell what damage really is done. His skull appears to be intact, luckily, but again, I can't determine how serious the head injury is at this point."

"O'Neill was having trouble remembering what had happened," Teal'c informed the female doctor.

Fraiser nodded. "That's to be expected. Did he recognize you?"

"The first time he aroused he did," Teal'c confirmed. "The second time O'Neill was too confused. Perhaps his moving around has something to do with it."

"His moving around?" questioned Daniel.

"I was just about to ask where all that glass came from," Sam wondered.

"When I located O'Neill the first time, he was in the other room. I left him there to go back to the truck to get the cell phone. When I returned, O'Neill was not where I had left him."

Fraiser sighed. "How typical."

"O'Neill was lying in this room, and his body blocked the door. I had to break the window to reach him," the Jaffa explained.

"Now how did he manage that?" wondered Daniel, scanning the room.

"He must have somehow tripped and fallen against the door," Sam guessed, following the linguist's gaze.

"When I tried to arouse him, O'Neill stated he had to find me. It is my guess that he awoke and went looking for me until he collapsed," Teal'c filled in.

"Possible," agreed Daniel. "So what do we do now?"

Fraiser looked up. "I'm going to immobilize his neck as a precaution for transport. I will also intubate him and give him something to keep him still. I don't want any surprises during the flight. Then we need to see whether we can get him in the back of the truck without jostling him around. I don't want those ribs causing more damage than they might have done already."

"So we're going to lift him on the stretcher and then put him in the back of the truck?" Sam asked.

"Yes," nodded Janet before turning back to her patient to prepare him for being moved.

When Fraiser and her nurse were ready, Teal'c and Daniel carefully lifted the still form up to put him on the stretcher. After the nurse had fastened the safety straps the two men carried the stretcher outside before carefully shoving it in the back of the truck.

"Janet, I'll drive you back to the heli. Then you can take the Colonel back to base. We'll be driving home," Sam suggested.

The doctor and nurse had already climbed in the truck next to their patient. The two remaining members of SG-1 joined them in the box, waiting for Carter to start the engine. The Major switched the headlights on, slowly turned the vehicle around and started driving back to where the chopper was waiting.

* * *

Jack slowly became aware of his surroundings. He heard soft voices and other sounds and knew he was in the infirmary before even opening his eyes.

The soft familiar clicking of heels made him decide to go back to sleep immediately.

"Colonel?"

Damn. It didn't work.

"Colonel? Come on, open your eyes for me."

The otherwise gentle voice of Doctor Fraiser was now hammering through his mind, making him wonder when she had lost the ability to whisper. Knowing he couldn't fool her with his sleeping-act, O'Neill fought to prey his eyes open and after managing that he quickly closed them again. "Don't you ever run out of batteries for that thing?" he grunted as his brain protested against the light that she had been shining into his eyes.

"Morning, Sir," Fraiser said with an amused smile on her lips. "I'm done. Does it hurt?"

"Uh-huh," he protested slightly without revealing any details.

"With that head injury, that does not surprise me," Fraiser answered. "I'm going to give you something for the pain in a minute. Do you know who I am?"

"Elizabeth Corday?"

She giggled. "So you still remember E.R." Her voice more seriously, she continued. "Come on, Sir. With a serious head injury I gotta ask some questions. So humor me."

"Me Jack, you Janet. Hammond from Texas rules the world and Carter, Daniel and Teal'c are playing on my team. Can I go home now?"

"No," Fraiser said firmly, although her eyes were still smiling. "Not yet."

"What happened?" O'Neill asked, pushing his memory to remember. Some images came back and the Colonel suddenly jerked his body up. "Where's Teal'c?" he gasped.

Janet rushed forward. His action had taken her by surprise and she was already too late to stop him from moving. Placing one hand on his shoulder she slowly pushed, indicating for him to lie down. "No sudden moves, Colonel," she warned. "You've got some broken ribs and they need time to heal. Teal'c is fine, he's meditating and will come to see you later."

She watched him slowly lowering back in the pillows, his face twisted from the pain the sudden movement had caused him. "What do you remember?"

He took some slow breaths before answering her. "We were trying to get some names from that NID Captain. He got shot, me and Teal'c got separated..." he summarized. "He found me, then I lost him again... Did I shoot the General?" His eyes wide, he glanced demandingly at her, one hand touching the bandage that was covering the wound behind his ear.

"No, you didn't. The Tollan scientist removed the device from your head, remember?" Janet quickly reassured him. The Tollan surgeon had actually done more than that and had successfully repaired some more damage the Colonel's head had sustained during his last adventure, but she decided now was not the time to inform him about that.

Relieved, he nodded. "Oh, yeah, Travis, right?"

"Yes." Satisfied that he remembered enough from the ordeal, Janet prepared to inject a new dose of pain medication into the IV line. "That's enough for now, Sir. I need you to rest. We'll talk some more later."

O'Neill, already exhausted from the conversation, only managed to nod slightly. Satisfied to know his team was safe and knowing he would get more details about what had happened later he gave in to the darkness that was waiting to claim him.

* * *

"Hey, Jack."

O'Neill looked up as Daniel entered his room and made a greeting gesture with his hand.

"How are you feeling?" the archaeologist asked, pulling a chair forward to sit next to the bed.

"Oh, sore, tired, silly with this thing on," Jack pulled on the hospital gown he was wearing. "Bored out of my skull.... the usual."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Well... at least you're doing better. Is Janet going to release you soon?"

"Nah..." the Colonel whined. "Not before she's poked me full of holes, given me a killer dose of X-ray radiation and ran every other test her sick mind can think of."

Jackson chuckled. "Poor you."

"You damn right," O'Neill agreed.

"So," started Daniel. "Why do you think those guys took you and beat you up in the first place? Was it the NID that did this?"

"I have no idea, Daniel," Jack answered more seriously now. "They were just trying to scare me off. Apparently there are some people extremely interested in the SGC and we are in their way."

"Did you talk to General Hammond about this?"

Jack stared at the wall. He remembered every word this masked man had said to him, remembered how he'd threatened the General's granddaughter. He also had every detail his trained mind had picked up pressed in his memory and he was certain that information would prove him right some day in the near future. "Not yet. But I will have to do that as soon as he's back."

"I can't believe how they can do this and get away with it..." Jackson shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh, that's the easy part, Daniel. That's the easy part," O'Neill answered him absentmindedly. All the time he'd been lying in the infirmary he'd been trying to come up with a plan to nail these guys and to protect the General's family. Although these men hadn't been able to scare him off, O'Neill surely took the warning seriously and knew he had to act before he was being pushed into defensive actions.

At that moment, the phone next to the bed rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. Leaning sideways, O'Neill grabbed the receiver, lifted it to his ear and answered it. "Yes?"

"Jack?" a familiar voice sounded from the other end of the connection. "It's Hannibal."

O'Neill frowned in surprise. "Lectar or Smith?"

"Ja-aaack... I'm a bit older than that..." the voice answered annoyingly. "Heyes, of course."

"Whatever..." O'Neill shrugged his shoulders, still wondering what this was all about. "What do you want? Aren't you... incarcerated?"

"I have my ways, Jack," was the short answer. "I have my sources, too. And my sources are telling me you ran into a little trouble."

"Maybe..." Jack wasn't about to fill him in that easily.

"The one you ran into is an old acquaintance of mine, Jack. Next time he's causing trouble, you know where to find me. Maybe I can help you out."

"What makes you think I want your help?" O'Neill demanded.

"Maybe because you still like me... Maybe because the life of a young girl is more important than principles..." the voice responded. "Maybe... because you need me, since there's no-one else."

Before Jack could answer, the voice on the other end broke off the connection. The Colonel, his face showing stunned surprise, leaned over to put the receiver down.

"Who was that?" Daniel asked, noticing his friend's surprise.

O'Neill waved him off. "Oh, just an old acquaintance..."

Jackson stared at the man in the bed, knowing that it was a bit more than that. Without lowering his gaze, he pushed on. "What was it about?"

O'Neill gathered his thoughts before turning his head to look at his friend. "I don't know yet, Daniel..." he said sincerely, then closed the conversation cryptically. "Let's just say that... how do they say it? It ain't over, until it's really over..."

**THE END**

_And we all know how that is going to end, with Jack pushing Simmons out of an emergency exit on the Prometheus .... ha!_

_If you like stories involving the rogue group causing trouble, I wrote a NCIS / SG1 crossover, where Robert Makepeace's younger brother is killed by those bastards and Jack heads over to DC to assist the NCIS team.... You can find the story here: .net/s/4143232/1/The_Arthur_Makepeace_Code  
_

_The title is: The Arthur Makepeace code so you of course can also find it under my profile / story listings in case the html editor won't let me add a link. Well, thank you all for reading, hope you enjoyed the ride and until next time!_


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